Multifunctional Cantilevers as Working Elements in Solid-State Cooling Devices
Despite the challenges of practical implementation, electrocaloric (EC) cooling remains a promising technology because of its good scalability and high efficiency. Here, we investigate the feasibility of an EC cooling device that couples the EC and electromechanical (EM) responses of a highly functi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/3/58 |
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| author | Andraž Bradeško Lovro Fulanović Marko Vrabelj Aleksander Matavž Mojca Otoničar Jurij Koruza Barbara Malič Tadej Rojac |
| author_facet | Andraž Bradeško Lovro Fulanović Marko Vrabelj Aleksander Matavž Mojca Otoničar Jurij Koruza Barbara Malič Tadej Rojac |
| author_sort | Andraž Bradeško |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite the challenges of practical implementation, electrocaloric (EC) cooling remains a promising technology because of its good scalability and high efficiency. Here, we investigate the feasibility of an EC cooling device that couples the EC and electromechanical (EM) responses of a highly functionally, efficient, lead magnesium niobate ceramic material. We fabricated multifunctional cantilevers from this material and characterized their electrical, EM and EC properties. Two active cantilevers were stacked in a cascade structure, forming a proof-of-concept device, which was then analyzed in detail. The cooling effect was lower than the EC effect of the material itself, mainly due to the poor solid-to-solid heat transfer. However, we show that the use of ethylene glycol in the thermal contact area can significantly reduce the contact resistance, thereby improving the heat transfer. Although this solution is most likely impractical from the design point of view, the results clearly show that in this and similar cooling devices, a non-destructive, surface-modification method, with the same effectiveness as that of ethylene glycol, will have to be developed to reduce the thermal contact resistance. We hope this study will motivate the further development of multifunctional cooling devices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:18:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-895fb4ed8dd14e0aa1f29b676260bbd0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0825 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:18:29Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Actuators |
| spelling | doaj.art-895fb4ed8dd14e0aa1f29b676260bbd02023-11-21T10:12:08ZengMDPI AGActuators2076-08252021-03-011035810.3390/act10030058Multifunctional Cantilevers as Working Elements in Solid-State Cooling DevicesAndraž Bradeško0Lovro Fulanović1Marko Vrabelj2Aleksander Matavž3Mojca Otoničar4Jurij Koruza5Barbara Malič6Tadej Rojac7Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Materials and Earth Sciences, Technical University of Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, GermanyJožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDespite the challenges of practical implementation, electrocaloric (EC) cooling remains a promising technology because of its good scalability and high efficiency. Here, we investigate the feasibility of an EC cooling device that couples the EC and electromechanical (EM) responses of a highly functionally, efficient, lead magnesium niobate ceramic material. We fabricated multifunctional cantilevers from this material and characterized their electrical, EM and EC properties. Two active cantilevers were stacked in a cascade structure, forming a proof-of-concept device, which was then analyzed in detail. The cooling effect was lower than the EC effect of the material itself, mainly due to the poor solid-to-solid heat transfer. However, we show that the use of ethylene glycol in the thermal contact area can significantly reduce the contact resistance, thereby improving the heat transfer. Although this solution is most likely impractical from the design point of view, the results clearly show that in this and similar cooling devices, a non-destructive, surface-modification method, with the same effectiveness as that of ethylene glycol, will have to be developed to reduce the thermal contact resistance. We hope this study will motivate the further development of multifunctional cooling devices.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/3/58electrocaloric responseelectromechanical responsemultifunctional materialscooling |
| spellingShingle | Andraž Bradeško Lovro Fulanović Marko Vrabelj Aleksander Matavž Mojca Otoničar Jurij Koruza Barbara Malič Tadej Rojac Multifunctional Cantilevers as Working Elements in Solid-State Cooling Devices Actuators electrocaloric response electromechanical response multifunctional materials cooling |
| title | Multifunctional Cantilevers as Working Elements in Solid-State Cooling Devices |
| title_full | Multifunctional Cantilevers as Working Elements in Solid-State Cooling Devices |
| title_fullStr | Multifunctional Cantilevers as Working Elements in Solid-State Cooling Devices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multifunctional Cantilevers as Working Elements in Solid-State Cooling Devices |
| title_short | Multifunctional Cantilevers as Working Elements in Solid-State Cooling Devices |
| title_sort | multifunctional cantilevers as working elements in solid state cooling devices |
| topic | electrocaloric response electromechanical response multifunctional materials cooling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/3/58 |
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