The aim of our study was to elucidate the fundamental cooling characteristics and to improve the cooling characteristics of a room-temperature magnetic refrigerator operated under an active magnetic regenerator (AMR) cycle. The AMR refrigeration cycle, which includes a thermal storage process and a regeneration process, is used to realize a practical magnetic refrigerator operating near room-temperature. The basic components of the target AMR system are a magnetic circuit, test section, fluid-displacing device, and associated instrumentation. Spherical gadolinium particles are packed in the test section as the magnetic working substance, and air and water are used as heat transfer fluids. The cooling characteristics of the target AMR system under various operating conditions are investigated. The results show that the AMR cycle is very effective in improving the cooling performance of the room-temperature magnetic refrigerator.

Issue Section:
Thermal Issues in Emerging Technologies
Keywords:
magnetic refrigeration, magnetocaloric effect, heat pump, regenerative cycle, boundary layers, gadolinium, heat pumps, heat transfer, magnetic cooling
Topics:
Cooling, Cycles, Fluids, Heat transfer, Particulate matter, Refrigeration, Temperature, Water, Refrigeration cycles, Flow (Dynamics), Gadolinium
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