A practical model for analysis of active magnetic regenerative refrigerators for room temperature applications

In this paper, a practical model for predicting the performance and efficiency of active magnetic regenerative refrigerators (AMRRs) has been developed. With this model, the refrigeration capacity, the power consumption (including the power required to move regenerator cylinder and drive heat transfer fluid) and consequently the coefficient of performance (COP) of a real AMRR system can be predicted with different heat transfer fluids. A dimensionless parameter, utilization at maximum refrigeration capacity (UMRC), is used to numerically characterize the performance of an AMRR. The numerical results indicate that the UMRC increases with increasing number of transfer units (NTU) and eventually reaches its maximum. Increasing operating frequency increases the refrigeration capacity of the AMRR while causes a reduction in COP. The influences of the physical properties of transfer fluids on the AMRR performance are also studied. Liquid is more favorable than gas for being used as heat transfer fluid in AMRR systems.     

Experimental investigation on refrigeration performance of a reciprocating active magnetic regenerator of room temperature magnetic refrigeration

Room temperature magnetic refrigeration has been proved to be a feasible refrigerating technology and has a prosperous application potential. In this research, magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of metal gadolinium is measured and the metal is prepared from ingot to granular state by method of hydriding–ball milling–dehydriding. The other compound, Gd₅Si₂Ge₂ alloy, is also prepared into grains by mechanical comminuting and its magnetocaloric property is obtained. An experimental system of room temperature magnetic refrigeration is established, and three kinds of magnetic refrigerant (MR I: 0.3 mm mean diameter gadolinium particle, MR II: 0.55 mm mean diameter gadolinium particle and MR III: 0.3–0.75 mm Gd₅Si₂Ge₂ alloy particle) are employed in AMR. Performance experiments of AMR system under various temperature range, temperature span, flow rate, and flow period conditions are investigated. The results indicate that AMR adopting MR I, II, III can generate a maximum refrigerating capacity of 18.7 W, 17.8 W, and 10.3 W, respectively, under a 3 K temperature span. With the increasing temperature span, the capacity decreases. MR I and MR II have an equivalent refrigerating ability higher than MR III.     

Static and rotating active magnetic regenerators with porous heat exchangers for magnetic cooling

The operation behaviour of an active magnetic regenerator (AMR) with a wavy-structure, or a honeycomb-like regenerator bed was numerically investigated. The thermodynamic model was applied to a static regenerator and – in a generalized version – to a rotary type. The models take two-dimensional unsteady heat conduction in the magnetic material during the four basic processes of the AMR cycle into account. The numerical results were used to determine optimal arrangements of different magnetic materials in order to obtain larger temperature spans between both ends of the porous beds. Furthermore, a first study of magnetic flux lines in a porous rotary heat exchanger was performed.     

Design and performance of a permanent-magnet rotary refrigerator

In order to demonstrate the potential of magnetic refrigeration to provide useful cooling near room temperature, Astronautics Corporation of America constructed a rotary magnetic refrigerator (RMR) in 2001. The RMR uses the active magnetic regenerator (AMR) cycle with an aqueous heat transfer fluid. The required change in magnetic field is produced by the rotation of a wheel packed with porous beds of magnetocaloric material through a 1.5 T Nd₂Fe₁₄B permanent magnet with steel flux concentration poles. A pump, and valves mounted to the wheel, control heat transfer fluid flow through the magnetocaloric beds and heat exchangers. This rotary design allows quiet, reliable operation over a range of frequencies (0.5–4 Hz), heat transfer fluid flow rates and cooling power. The performance of the device using Gd and Gd alloy spherical particles is reported and analyzed. We also describe the performance effects of introducing layered beds and an La(Fe_1−xSi_x)₁₃H_y alloy with a first order magnetic transition.     

Performance of a room-temperature rotary magnetic refrigerator

We have designed and operated a rotating-magnet type AMR (active magnetic regeneration) refrigerator that uses water as a heat transfer fluid. Four kinds of gadolinium-based alloy are used as magnetic materials. A magnetic field of 0.77 T is applied by neodymium permanent magnets. The refrigerator produces a maximum cooling power of 60 W around 10 °C. An optimal time for one cycle exists, and it depends on the water flow rate and the frequency of magnetization and demagnetization. Enhancement of the water flow rate and the frequency is known to be essential for increasing the cooling power of this refrigerator.     

Experimental study on the performance of a room temperature magnetic refrigerator using permanent magnets

An investigation of a room temperature active magnetic refrigerator was carried out in this work. An experimental rig was built, in which two reciprocating regenerative beds packed with 1167.4 g of gadolinium were used, helium gas was used as a heat transfer fluid, and an average 1.5 T magnetic field was supplied by permanent magnets. With this apparatus, the influence of the gas pressure, the operating frequency and the temperature range were studied systematically. The lowest no heat load temperature of −2.79 °C at the cold end heat exchanger and a maximum no heat load temperature span of 42.28 °C were obtained. A maximum cooling power of 51.3 W was achieved over a temperature span of 18.16 °C. The results in this study provide useful data for future design and development of room temperature magnetic refrigerators.     

A magnetic field source system for magnetic refrigeration and its interaction with magnetocaloric material

The magnetic field source system constitutes an important component of magnetic refrigeration. A specific methodology for its' dimensioning is proposed in this paper. It is based on analytical calculation models and takes into account the geometry of the system, the magnetic properties of the magnetocaloric material and the magnetothermal cycle (direct or active magnetic regenerative refrigeration). The analytical calculation of the field is first developed and applied to usual permanent magnet-based field sources with and without soft magnetic materials. Then the forces generated by the interaction between the field and the magnetocaloric effect material are analytically evaluated considering the real field distribution. All calculations are validated thanks to two- or three-dimensional finite element method simulations.     

Performance analysis of a room temperature rotary magnetic refrigerator for two different gadolinium compounds

A thermodynamic performance analysis is developed for a Steyert-like rotary magnetic refrigeration (RMR) system operating in the near-room temperature range with two possible, alternative, gadolinium compounds. The first magnetocaloric material (MCM) is an alloy (Gd₇Pd₃) with a well defined Curie temperature (around 318 K), while the second MCM (Gd₇₆Pd₂₄) is an eutectic compound with a smoothed double Curie transition (at 298 and 318 K, respectively).

The main issues linked to the thermodynamic properties of the magnetic material are outlined and the influence of the magnetocaloric properties on the global performance (useful effect, coefficient of performance, and so on) of the refrigeration system is discussed.     

Innovative design of a magnetocaloric system

In the present paper we consider the problem of optimizing the cooling of a magnetocaloric refrigerator. In this work we first theoretically and then experimentally study the performance of a single material regenerator under different operating conditions. The basic principles of the design and implementation of our magnetic refrigerator prototype are presented as well as a new magnetic assembly of NdFeB permanent magnets.

The design of the equipment uses a movement of relative displacement optimized for the phases of activation and inactivation of the magnetic field. Each part of the equipment is implemented in order to be controlled separately and to allow a large variety of the tests: gear pumps with individual control, sequence of programmable magnetocaloric cycle, unit control by programmable controller and application programming interface by color LCD touch screen, real-time processing data acquisition using a National Instruments System implemented on Independent PC, expelled heat using different standard heat exchangers.     

Detailed numerical modeling of a linear parallel-plate Active Magnetic Regenerator

A numerical model simulating Active Magnetic Regeneration (AMR) is presented and compared to a selection of experiments. The model is an extension and re-implementation of a previous two-dimensional model. The new model is extended to 2.5D, meaning that parasitic thermal losses are included in the spatially not-resolved direction.The implementation of the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is made possible through a source term in the heat equation for the magnetocaloric material (MCM). This adds the possibility to model a continuously varying magnetic field.The adiabatic temperature change of the used gadolinium has been measured and is used as an alternative MCE than mean field modeling. The results show that using the 2.5D formulation brings the model significantly closer to the experiment. Good agreement between the experimental results and the modeling was obtained when using the 2.5D formulation in combination with the measured adiabatic temperature change.     

Research on performance of regenerative room temperature magnetic refrigeration cycle

On the basis of classical Langevin theory along with statistical mechanics, thermodynamics and magnetism, a new expression of magnetocaloric parameters used for room temperature magnetic refrigeration is proposed, which is briefer and more accurate than the existing one, providing a new way for studying performance of regenerative room temperature magnetic Ericsson refrigeration cycle. Influences of temperature of heat reservoirs and magnetic intensity on cycle refrigeration capacity and coefficient of performance are analyzed. The results show that the maximal temperature span of the cycle increases but its increasing rate decreases with the increase of magnetic field strength. In addition, there exists only one maximum value of effective refrigerating capacity. Two cycles with the same COP can reach a same temperature span under a certain magnetic field strength. A large magnetic field strength can improve COP but the increase rate of COP decreases.     

Experimental investigation of a three-material layered active magnetic regenerator

This work reports on experimental studies using an active magnetic regenerative test apparatus (AMRTA) in near room-temperature refrigeration cycles. Experiments using regenerator beds composed of three different magnetocaloric materials combined in a layered configuration with applied fields of 2 T have produced no-load temperature spans in excess of 50 K. The test apparatus uses two active magnetic regenerators each containing approximately 135 g of refrigerant. An overview of the test apparatus, operating parameters, and performance is described. The impacts of operation at varying heat rejection temperatures, applied fields of 1.5 T and frequencies between 0.65 and 1.0 Hz are presented. In addition, the impacts of operating pressure and applied load on temperature spans are discussed.     

Optimization of a magnetic refrigerator at room temperature for air cooling systems

The purpose of this study is to understand the optimum operating condition of magnetic refrigerator at room temperature for direct air-cooling. The basic components of the target system are a magnetic circuit including two permanent magnets, a test section, an air blower, and an associated instrumentation. The test section consists of 10 test cells which enclose gadolinium chips as a magnetic working substance in a prescribed packing rate. In order to change the applied magnetic field from 0 to 0.9 T, the magnetic circuit is installed on an electric slider which generates reciprocating motion. The system performances are widely investigated both experimentally and analytically for the variety of conditions such as a volumetric flow rate of air, a packing length of magnetic working substance, and a heat exchange cycle. The results reveal that the present magnetic refrigerator has a maximum value of the cooling rate in an appropriate operating condition.     

The effect of operating conditions on the performance of a supersonic ejector for refrigeration

A previously developed one-dimensional model, based on a forward marching solution technique of the conservation equations has been used to study ejector operation and performance in a large range of refrigeration working conditions. Several important features of ejector operation characteristics were simulated. Global parameter values, their local distributions along the ejector including the temperature, the pressure and the Mach number were calculated for design and off design conditions. Operation parameters such as the entrainment ratio ω, compression ratios P_exit/P_ev, P_g/P_exit and the geometric ratio (D/D_c)² were found to significantly affect performance. The impact of the generator, the evaporator, the condenser and related thermodynamic parameters, which have been assessed in this study, are summarized as:

Fluid mixing conditions dictated by the fluid type, the mixing chamber geometry, the inlet and outlet constraints, may lead to off design operation with related stability and performance deterioration

Internal superheat generation, due to inefficient mixing and normal shock waves is very important in off design operation

Some degree of inlet superheat (around 5 °C) is necessary to prevent internal condensation but excess superheat is detrimental to the condenser efficiency at exit

Generator pressure conditions and the evaporator temperature significantly affect ejector performance.

Simulation model for complex refrigeration systems based on two-phase fluid network – Part I: Model development

Some complex refrigeration and heat pump systems with several condensers and evaporators have been developed for different kinds of application. Traditional simulation models were developed for systems in certain operating modes and they failed in modeling the complex refrigeration systems with uncertainties of heat exchangers function and refrigerant flowing direction. In order to predict the performance of complex refrigeration systems, a simulation model is presented based on the two-phase fluid network. The model is consisted of distributed-parameter model of heat exchangers and connecting tubes, map-based model of inverter compressor and electronic expansion valve (EEV). Based on the characteristic of refrigeration system and fluid network, the three conservation equations, i.e. energy, momentum and mass equations, are solved iteratively. This model can deal with the uncertainty of refrigerant flow direction by separating the solving process of the components and the fluid network model, and therefore can simulate different kinds of complex refrigeration systems in different operating modes and conditions. The model is validated by the experimental data of an inverter air conditioner in heating/cooling operating modes and it shows the error of the model is mainly determined by the error of submodels of components in calculating heat transfer and pressure loss. The model is applied for performance analysis of three kinds of complex refrigeration systems in the accompanying article [Shi W.X., Shao, S.Q., Li, X.T., Yan, Q.S., 2008. Simulation model for complex heat pump systems based on two-phase fluid network: part II – model applications, International Journal of Refrigeration 31 (3), 500–509.].     

Simulation model for complex refrigeration systems based on two-phase fluid network – Part II: Model application

A simulation model of complex refrigeration system based on two-phase fluid network is developed in part I of the paper [Shao, S.Q., Shi, W.X., Li, X.T., Yan, Q.S., 2008. Simulation model for complex heat pump systems based on two-phase fluid network – part I: model development. International Journal of Refrigeration 31 (3), 490–499.]. One same fluid network is used in the model to describe the refrigeration system in different operating modes with the method of the factual and fictitious branches. When there are many heat exchangers with concurrent cooling and heating, the traditional models are not able to define the flowing directions. The developed model, however, whether the initial flowing direction of the connecting branches is right or not, is able to predict the flow and heat transfer. Three typical complex refrigeration systems such as the multi-unit inverter air conditioner, heat pump with domestic hot water and multi-unit heat pump dehumidifier are simulated with the developed model as demonstrations on how to use it. The model can evaluate the influences of one or more parameters on the system performance, which can be used for the optimization of the system by all-condition performance analysis. It is shown that the two-phase fluid network model is effective and convenient for the simulation of different complex refrigeration system, especially for performance analysis, system evaluation, and optimization based on the performance prediction.     

Refrigeration aspects of magnetic particle suspensions

This study examines the feasibility of using magnetic particles in liquid suspension as a working fluid to achieve room temperature refrigeration with a permanent magnetic field source. Potential advantages include facilitation of regenerative heat transfer while avoiding wear, drag, and leakage problems of mechanical sliding seals associated with the use of a solid magnetic working substance. Rheological properties are evaluated in defining an appropriate composition, and performance estimates developed for a conceptual embodiment.     

A low data requirement model of a variable-speed vapour compression refrigeration system based on neural networks

In this work a model of a vapour compression refrigeration system with a variable-speed compressor, based on a black-box modelling technique, is presented. The kernel of the model consists of a full customized radial basis function network, which has been developed to accurately predict the performance of the system with low cost data requirement in terms of input variables and training data. The work also presents a steady state validation of the model inside and outside the training data set, finding, in both cases, a good agreement between experimental values and those predicted by the model. These results constitute a first step to go through future research on fault detection and energy optimisation in variable-speed refrigeration systems.     

Comparison of experimental pressure drop data for two phase flows to prediction methods using a general model

In this paper, existing and new two phase pressure drop data are used to run an extensive comparison to predictive methods. The database used is for seven refrigerants (R22, R134a, R404A, R407C, R410A, R417A, and R507A) over a wide range of operating conditions. The procedure used for the comparison is a model of general validity since it is independent of the data reduction procedure. Four quoted methods and a new one by Moreno Quibén and Thome are used. The statistical analysis showed that the methods by Grönnerud and by Moreno Quibén and Thome are equally the best. Segregating the data by flow regimes and taking into account for the prediction of the data trends, the method by Moreno Quibén and Thome is able to give reliable predictions in all the range of vapour qualities, especially in the regions of the intermittent flow and dry-out.