Thermal Response of Magnetic Refrigerants: Combined Effect of Temperature Dependent Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity
Device optimization plays a paramount role in current research on magnetic refrigeration. Solid state refrigerants have been characterized and numerical simulations assume a critical relevance in the development of magnetocaloric technology to have alternatives to vapour-compression systems whose op...
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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author | Antonio P. Lopes Vitor A. F. Costa Joao S. Amaral |
author_facet | Antonio P. Lopes Vitor A. F. Costa Joao S. Amaral |
author_sort | Antonio P. Lopes |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Device optimization plays a paramount role in current research on magnetic refrigeration. Solid state refrigerants have been characterized and numerical simulations assume a critical relevance in the development of magnetocaloric technology to have alternatives to vapour-compression systems whose operating elements have high global warming potential. Experimental studies have shown that the thermal properties of several magnetocaloric materials considerably change around their Curie temperatures (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mi>T</mi><mi>C</mi></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>) and that this temperature dependency should not be dismissed. Current numerical research does not fully predict the complete thermal response of such materials, due to inaccuracies from neglecting the impact of combining both thermal conductivity (<i>k</i>) and specific heat (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mi>C</mi><mi>p</mi></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>) dependence on temperature. In this study, a simple unidimensional model includes <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>k</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>T</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>C</mi><mi>p</mi></msub><mrow><mo>(</mo><mi>T</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> functions as input parameters, highlighting the relevance of considering temperature dependent thermophysical properties’ inputs when simulating the magnetic refrigerant’s heat transfer processes. The obtained results evidence that neglecting the temperature dependence of the magnetocaloric material thermophysical properties, namely its thermal conductivity and its specific heat, affects its temperature response, what may strongly affect the results after a succession of (hundreds or thousands) cycles. |
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spelling | doaj.art-c2b2c23c4d3a4dc7988429aa6e7c017f2023-11-23T19:39:15ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-06-011213658110.3390/app12136581Thermal Response of Magnetic Refrigerants: Combined Effect of Temperature Dependent Specific Heat and Thermal ConductivityAntonio P. Lopes0Vitor A. F. Costa1Joao S. Amaral2Department of Physics, CICECO–Aveiro Institute of Materials, Campus Universitário de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Mechanical Technology and Automation, Campus Universitário de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalDepartment of Physics, CICECO–Aveiro Institute of Materials, Campus Universitário de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalDevice optimization plays a paramount role in current research on magnetic refrigeration. Solid state refrigerants have been characterized and numerical simulations assume a critical relevance in the development of magnetocaloric technology to have alternatives to vapour-compression systems whose operating elements have high global warming potential. Experimental studies have shown that the thermal properties of several magnetocaloric materials considerably change around their Curie temperatures (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mi>T</mi><mi>C</mi></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>) and that this temperature dependency should not be dismissed. Current numerical research does not fully predict the complete thermal response of such materials, due to inaccuracies from neglecting the impact of combining both thermal conductivity (<i>k</i>) and specific heat (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mi>C</mi><mi>p</mi></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>) dependence on temperature. In this study, a simple unidimensional model includes <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>k</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>T</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>C</mi><mi>p</mi></msub><mrow><mo>(</mo><mi>T</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> functions as input parameters, highlighting the relevance of considering temperature dependent thermophysical properties’ inputs when simulating the magnetic refrigerant’s heat transfer processes. The obtained results evidence that neglecting the temperature dependence of the magnetocaloric material thermophysical properties, namely its thermal conductivity and its specific heat, affects its temperature response, what may strongly affect the results after a succession of (hundreds or thousands) cycles.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/13/6581heat transfernumerical modellingthermophysical propertiesthermal conductivitymagnetocaloric materialstemperature dependence |
spellingShingle | Antonio P. Lopes Vitor A. F. Costa Joao S. Amaral Thermal Response of Magnetic Refrigerants: Combined Effect of Temperature Dependent Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity Applied Sciences heat transfer numerical modelling thermophysical properties thermal conductivity magnetocaloric materials temperature dependence |
title | Thermal Response of Magnetic Refrigerants: Combined Effect of Temperature Dependent Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity |
title_full | Thermal Response of Magnetic Refrigerants: Combined Effect of Temperature Dependent Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity |
title_fullStr | Thermal Response of Magnetic Refrigerants: Combined Effect of Temperature Dependent Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity |
title_full_unstemmed | Thermal Response of Magnetic Refrigerants: Combined Effect of Temperature Dependent Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity |
title_short | Thermal Response of Magnetic Refrigerants: Combined Effect of Temperature Dependent Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity |
title_sort | thermal response of magnetic refrigerants combined effect of temperature dependent specific heat and thermal conductivity |
topic | heat transfer numerical modelling thermophysical properties thermal conductivity magnetocaloric materials temperature dependence |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/13/6581 |
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