Magnetic refrigeration is a cooling technology based on the magnetocaloric effect. This technique can be used to attain extremely low temperatures, as well as the ranges used in common refrigerators. [1] [2] [3] [4]
A magnetocaloric material warms up when a magnetic field is applied. The warming is due to changes in the internal state of the material releasing heat. When the magnetic field is removed, the material returns to its original state, reabsorbing the heat, and returning to original temperature. To achieve refrigeration, the material is allowed to radiate away its heat while in the magnetized hot state. Removing the magnetism, the material then cools to below its original temperature.
The effect was first observed in 1881 by a German physicist Emil Warburg, followed by French physicist P. Weiss and Swiss physicist A. Piccard in 1917. [5] The fundamental principle was suggested by P. Debye (1926) and W. Giauque (1927). [6] The first working magnetic refrigerators were constructed by several groups beginning in 1933. Magnetic refrigeration was the first method developed for cooling below about 0.3 K (the lowest temperature attainable before magnetic refrigeration, by pumping on 3
He vapors).
The magnetocaloric effect (MCE, from magnet and calorie ) is a magneto-thermodynamic phenomenon in which a temperature change of a suitable material is caused by exposing the material to a changing magnetic field. This is also known by low temperature physicists as adiabatic demagnetization. In that part of the refrigeration process, a decrease in the strength of an externally applied magnetic field allows the magnetic domains of a magnetocaloric material to become disoriented from the magnetic field by the agitating action of the thermal energy (phonons) present in the material. If the material is isolated so that no energy is allowed to (re)migrate into the material during this time, (i.e., an adiabatic process) the temperature drops as the domains absorb the thermal energy to perform their reorientation. The randomization of the domains occurs in a similar fashion to the randomization at the Curie temperature of a ferromagnetic material, except that magnetic dipoles overcome a decreasing external magnetic field while energy remains constant, instead of magnetic domains being disrupted from internal ferromagnetism as energy is added.
One of the most notable examples of the magnetocaloric effect is in the chemical element gadolinium and some of its alloys. Gadolinium's temperature increases when it enters certain magnetic fields. When it leaves the magnetic field, the temperature drops. The effect is considerably stronger for the gadolinium alloy Gd
5(Si
2Ge
2). [7] Praseodymium alloyed with nickel (PrNi
5) has such a strong magnetocaloric effect that it has allowed scientists to approach to within one millikelvin, one thousandth of a degree of absolute zero. [8]
The magnetocaloric effect can be quantified with the following equation:
where is the adiabatic change in temperature of the magnetic system around temperature T, H is the applied external magnetic field, C is the heat capacity of the working magnet (refrigerant) and M is the magnetization of the refrigerant.
From the equation we can see that the magnetocaloric effect can be enhanced by:
The adiabatic change in temperature, , can be seen to be related to the magnet's change in magnetic entropy () since [9]
This implies that the absolute change in the magnet's entropy determines the possible magnitude of the adiabatic temperature change under a thermodynamic cycle of magnetic field variation. T
The cycle is performed as a refrigeration cycle that is analogous to the Carnot refrigeration cycle, but with increases and decreases in magnetic field strength instead of increases and decreases in pressure. It can be described at a starting point whereby the chosen working substance is introduced into a magnetic field, i.e., the magnetic flux density is increased. The working material is the refrigerant, and starts in thermal equilibrium with the refrigerated environment.
Once the refrigerant and refrigerated environment are in thermal equilibrium, the cycle can restart.
The basic operating principle of an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) is the use of a strong magnetic field to control the entropy of a sample of material, often called the "refrigerant". Magnetic field constrains the orientation of magnetic dipoles in the refrigerant. The stronger the magnetic field, the more aligned the dipoles are, corresponding to lower entropy and heat capacity because the material has (effectively) lost some of its internal degrees of freedom. If the refrigerant is kept at a constant temperature through thermal contact with a heat sink (usually liquid helium) while the magnetic field is switched on, the refrigerant must lose some energy because it is equilibrated with the heat sink. When the magnetic field is subsequently switched off, the heat capacity of the refrigerant rises again because the degrees of freedom associated with orientation of the dipoles are once again liberated, pulling their share of equipartitioned energy from the motion of the molecules, thereby lowering the overall temperature of a system with decreased energy. Since the system is now insulated when the magnetic field is switched off, the process is adiabatic, i.e., the system can no longer exchange energy with its surroundings (the heat sink), and its temperature decreases below its initial value, that of the heat sink.
The operation of a standard ADR proceeds roughly as follows. First, a strong magnetic field is applied to the refrigerant, forcing its various magnetic dipoles to align and putting these degrees of freedom of the refrigerant into a state of lowered entropy. The heat sink then absorbs the heat released by the refrigerant due to its loss of entropy. Thermal contact with the heat sink is then broken so that the system is insulated, and the magnetic field is switched off, increasing the heat capacity of the refrigerant, thus decreasing its temperature below the temperature of the heat sink. In practice, the magnetic field is decreased slowly in order to provide continuous cooling and keep the sample at an approximately constant low temperature. Once the field falls to zero or to some low limiting value determined by the properties of the refrigerant, the cooling power of the ADR vanishes, and heat leaks will cause the refrigerant to warm up.
The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is an intrinsic property of a magnetic solid. This thermal response of a solid to the application or removal of magnetic fields is maximized when the solid is near its magnetic ordering temperature. Thus, the materials considered for magnetic refrigeration devices should be magnetic materials with a magnetic phase transition temperature near the temperature region of interest. [11] For refrigerators that could be used in the home, this temperature is room temperature. The temperature change can be further increased when the order-parameter of the phase transition changes strongly within the temperature range of interest. [2]
The magnitudes of the magnetic entropy and the adiabatic temperature changes are strongly dependent upon the magnetic ordering process. The magnitude is generally small in antiferromagnets, ferrimagnets and spin glass systems but can be much larger for ferromagnets that undergo a magnetic phase transition. First order phase transitions are characterized by a discontinuity in the magnetization changes with temperature, resulting in a latent heat. [11] Second order phase transitions do not have this latent heat associated with the phase transition. [11]
In the late 1990s Pecharksy and Gschneidner reported a magnetic entropy change in Gd
5(Si
2Ge
2) that was about 50% larger than that reported for Gd metal, which had the largest known magnetic entropy change at the time. [12] This giant magnetocaloric effect (GMCE) occurred at 270 K, which is lower than that of Gd (294 K). [4] Since the MCE occurs below room temperature these materials would not be suitable for refrigerators operating at room temperature. [13] Since then other alloys have also demonstrated the giant magnetocaloric effect. These include Gd
5(Si
xGe
1−x)
4, La(Fe
xSi
1−x)
13H
x and MnFeP
1−xAs
x alloys. [11] [13] Gadolinium and its alloys undergo second-order phase transitions that have no magnetic or thermal hysteresis. [14] However, the use of rare earth elements makes these materials very expensive.
Ni
2Mn-X (X = Ga, Co, In, Al, Sb) Heusler alloys are also promising candidates for magnetic cooling applications because they have Curie temperatures near room temperature and, depending on composition, can have martensitic phase transformations near room temperature. [3] These materials exhibit the magnetic shape memory effect and can also be used as actuators, energy harvesting devices, and sensors. [15] When the martensitic transformation temperature and the Curie temperature are the same (based on composition) the magnitude of the magnetic entropy change is the largest. [2] In February 2014, GE announced the development of a functional Ni-Mn-based magnetic refrigerator. [16] [17]
The development of this technology is very material-dependent and will likely not replace vapor-compression refrigeration without significantly improved materials that are cheap, abundant, and exhibit much larger magnetocaloric effects over a larger range of temperatures. Such materials need to show significant temperature changes under a field of two tesla or less, so that permanent magnets can be used for the production of the magnetic field. [18] [19]
The original proposed refrigerant was a paramagnetic salt, such as cerium magnesium nitrate. The active magnetic dipoles in this case are those of the electron shells of the paramagnetic atoms.
In a paramagnetic salt ADR, the heat sink is usually provided by a pumped 4
He (about 1.2 K) or 3
He (about 0.3 K) cryostat. An easily attainable 1 T magnetic field is generally required for initial magnetization. The minimum temperature attainable is determined by the self-magnetization tendencies of the refrigerant salt, but temperatures from 1 to 100 mK are accessible. Dilution refrigerators had for many years supplanted paramagnetic salt ADRs, but interest in space-based and simple to use lab-ADRs has remained, due to the complexity and unreliability of the dilution refrigerator.
At a low enough temperature, paramagnetic salts become either diamagnetic or ferromagnetic, limiting the lowest temperature that can be reached using this method.[ citation needed ]
One variant of adiabatic demagnetization that continues to find substantial research application is nuclear demagnetization refrigeration (NDR). NDR follows the same principles, but in this case the cooling power arises from the magnetic dipoles of the nuclei of the refrigerant atoms, rather than their electron configurations. Since these dipoles are of much smaller magnitude, they are less prone to self-alignment and have lower intrinsic minimum fields. This allows NDR to cool the nuclear spin system to very low temperatures, often 1 μK or below. Unfortunately, the small magnitudes of nuclear magnetic dipoles also makes them less inclined to align to external fields. Magnetic fields of 3 teslas or greater are often needed for the initial magnetization step of NDR.
In NDR systems, the initial heat sink must sit at very low temperatures (10–100 mK). This precooling is often provided by the mixing chamber of a dilution refrigerator [20] or a paramagnetic salt.
Research and a demonstration proof of concept device in 2001 succeeded in applying commercial-grade materials and permanent magnets at room temperatures to construct a magnetocaloric refrigerator. [21]
On August 20, 2007, the Risø National Laboratory (Denmark) at the Technical University of Denmark, claimed to have reached a milestone in their magnetic cooling research when they reported a temperature span of 8.7 K. [22] They hoped to introduce the first commercial applications of the technology by 2010.
As of 2013 this technology had proven commercially viable only for ultra-low temperature cryogenic applications available for decades. Magnetocaloric refrigeration systems are composed of pumps, motors, secondary fluids, heat exchangers of different types, magnets and magnetic materials. These processes are greatly affected by irreversibilities and should be adequately considered. At year-end, Cooltech Applications announced that its first commercial refrigeration equipment would enter the market in 2014. Cooltech Applications launched their first commercially available magnetic refrigeration system on 20 June 2016. At the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a consortium of Haier, Astronautics Corporation of America and BASF presented the first cooling appliance. [23] BASF claim of their technology a 35% improvement over using compressors. [24]
In November 2015, at the Medica 2015 fair, Cooltech Applications presented, in collaboration with Kirsch medical GmbH, the world's first magnetocaloric medical cabinet. [25] One year later, in September 2016, at the 7th International Conference on Magnetic Refrigeration at Room Temperature (Thermag VII)] held in Torino, Italy, Cooltech Applications presented the world's first magnetocaloric frozen heat exchanger. [26]
In 2017, Cooltech Applications presented a fully functional 500 liters' magnetocaloric cooled cabinet with a 30 kg (66 lb) load and an air temperature inside the cabinet of +2 °C. That proved that magnetic refrigeration is a mature technology, capable of replacing the classic refrigeration solutions.
One year later, in September 2018, at the 8th International Conference on Magnetic Refrigeration at Room Temperature (Thermag VIII]), Cooltech Applications presented a paper on a magnetocaloric prototype designed as a 15 kW proof-of-concept unit. [27] This has been considered by the community as the largest magnetocaloric prototype ever created. [28]
At the same conference, Dr. Sergiu Lionte announced that, due to financial issues, Cooltech Applications declared bankruptcy. [29] Later on, in 2019 Ubiblue company, today named Magnoric, is formed by some of the old Cooltech Application's team members. The entire patent portfolio form Cooltech Applications was taken over by Magnoric since then, while publishing additional patents at the same time.
In 2019, at the 5th Delft Days Conference on Magnetocalorics, Dr. Sergiu Lionte presented Ubiblue's (former Cooltech Application) last prototype. [30] Later, the magnetocaloric community acknowledged that Ubiblue had the most developed magnetocalorics prototypes. [31]
Thermal and magnetic hysteresis problems remain to be solved for first-order phase transition materials that exhibit the GMCE. [18]
One potential application is in spacecraft.
Vapor-compression refrigeration units typically achieve performance coefficients of 60% of that of a theoretical ideal Carnot cycle, much higher than current MR technology. Small domestic refrigerators are however much less efficient. [32]
In 2014 giant anisotropic behavior of the magnetocaloric effect was found in HoMn
2O
5 at 10 K. The anisotropy of the magnetic entropy change gives rise to a large rotating MCE offering the possibility to build simplified, compact, and efficient magnetic cooling systems by rotating it in a constant magnetic field. [33]
In 2015 Aprea et al. [34] presented a new refrigeration concept, GeoThermag, which is a combination of magnetic refrigeration technology with that of low-temperature geothermal energy. To demonstrate the applicability of the GeoThermag technology, they developed a pilot system that consists of a 100-m deep geothermal probe; inside the probe, water flows and is used directly as a regenerating fluid for a magnetic refrigerator operating with gadolinium. The GeoThermag system showed the ability to produce cold water even at 281.8 K in the presence of a heat load of 60 W. In addition, the system has shown the existence of an optimal frequency f AMR, 0.26 Hz, for which it was possible to produce cold water at 287.9 K with a thermal load equal to 190 W with a COP of 2.20. Observing the temperature of the cold water that was obtained in the tests, the GeoThermag system showed a good ability to feed the cooling radiant floors and a reduced capacity for feeding the fan coil systems.
The effect was discovered first observed by German physicist Emil Warburg in 1881 [35] Subsequently by French physicist Pierre Weiss and Swiss physicist Auguste Piccard in 1917. [5]
Major advances first appeared in the late 1920s when cooling via adiabatic demagnetization was independently proposed by chemistry Nobel Laureates Peter Debye in 1926 and William F. Giauque in 1927.
It was first demonstrated experimentally by Giauque and his colleague D. P. MacDougall in 1933 for cryogenic purposes when they reached 0.25 K. [36] Between 1933 and 1997, advances in MCE cooling occurred. [37]
In 1997, the first near room-temperature proof of concept magnetic refrigerator was demonstrated by Karl A. Gschneidner, Jr. by the Iowa State University at Ames Laboratory. This event attracted interest from scientists and companies worldwide who started developing new kinds of room temperature materials and magnetic refrigerator designs. [7]
A major breakthrough came 2002 when a group at the University of Amsterdam demonstrated the giant magnetocaloric effect in MnFe(P,As) alloys that are based on abundant materials. [38]
Refrigerators based on the magnetocaloric effect have been demonstrated in laboratories, using magnetic fields starting at 0.6 T up to 10 T. Magnetic fields above 2 T are difficult to produce with permanent magnets and are produced by a superconducting magnet (1 T is about 20.000 times the Earth's magnetic field).
Recent research has focused on near room temperature. Constructed examples of room temperature magnetic refrigerators include:
Sponsor | Location | Announcement date | Type | Max. cooling power (W)[1] | Max ΔT (K)[2] | Magnetic field (T) | Solid refrigerant | Quantity (kg) | COP (-)[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ames Laboratory/Astronautics [39] | Ames, Iowa/Madison, Wisconsin, US | February 20, 1997 | Reciprocating | 600 | 10 | 5 (S) | Gd spheres | ||
Mater. Science Institute Barcelona [40] [41] | Barcelona, Spain | May 2000 | Rotary | ? | 5 | 0.95 (P) | Gd foil | ||
Chubu Electric/Toshiba [42] | Yokohama, Japan | Summer 2000 | Reciprocating | 100 | 21 | 4 (S) | Gd spheres | ||
University of Victoria [43] [44] | Victoria, British Columbia Canada | July 2001 | Reciprocating | 2 | 14 | 2 (S) | Gd & Gd 1−xTb x L.B. | ||
Astronautics [45] | Madison, Wisconsin, US | September 18, 2001 | Rotary | 95 | 25 | 1.5 (P) | Gd spheres | ||
Sichuan Inst. Tech./Nanjing University [46] | Nanjing, China | 23 April 2002 | Reciprocating | ? | 23 | 1.4 (P) | Gd spheres and Gd5Si1.985Ge1.985Ga0.03 powder | ||
Chubu Electric/Toshiba [47] | Yokohama, Japan | October 5, 2002 | Reciprocating | 40 | 27 | 0.6 (P) | Gd 1−xDy x L.B. | ||
Chubu Electric/Toshiba [47] | Yokohama, Japan | March 4, 2003 | Rotary | 60 | 10 | 0.76 (P) | Gd 1−xDy x L.B. | 1 | |
Lab. d’Electrotechnique Grenoble [48] | Grenoble, France | April 2003 | Reciprocating | 8.8 | 4 | 0.8 (P) | Gd foil | ||
George Washington University [49] | US | July 2004 | Reciprocating | ? | 5 | 2 (P) | Gd foil | ||
Astronautics [50] | Madison, Wisconsin, US | 2004 | Rotary | 95 | 25 | 1.5 (P) | Gd and GdEr spheres / La(Fe 0.88Si130− 0.12H 1.0 | ||
University of Victoria [51] | Victoria, British Columbia Canada | 2006 | Reciprocating | 15 | 50 | 2 (S) | Gd, Gd 0.74Tb 0.26 and Gd 0.85Er 0.15 pucks | 0.12 | |
University of Salerno [52] | Salerno, Italy | 2016 | Rotary | 250 | 12 | 1.2 (P) | Gd 0.600 mm spherical particles | 1.20 | 0.5 - 2.5 |
MISiS [53] | Tver and Moscow, Russia | 2019 | High speed rotary | ? | ? | ? | Gd bricks of two types, cascaded | ||
1maximum cooling power at zero temperature difference (ΔT=0); 2maximum temperature span at zero cooling capacity (W=0); L.B. = layered bed; P = permanent magnet; S = superconducting magnet; 3 COP values under different operating conditions |
In one example, Prof. Karl A. Gschneidner, Jr. unveiled a proof of concept magnetic refrigerator near room temperature on February 20, 1997. He also announced the discovery of the GMCE in Gd
5Si
2Ge
2 on June 9, 1997. [12] Since then, hundreds of peer-reviewed articles have been written describing materials exhibiting magnetocaloric effects.
In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures.
Ferromagnetism is a property of certain materials that results in a significant, observable magnetic permeability, and in many cases, a significant magnetic coercivity, allowing the material to form a permanent magnet. Ferromagnetic materials are noticeably attracted to a magnet, which is a consequence of their substantial magnetic permeability.
Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in superconductors: materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic fields are expelled from the material. Unlike an ordinary metallic conductor, whose resistance decreases gradually as its temperature is lowered, even down to near absolute zero, a superconductor has a characteristic critical temperature below which the resistance drops abruptly to zero. An electric current through a loop of superconducting wire can persist indefinitely with no power source.
Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one. Refrigeration is an artificial, or human-made, cooling method.
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, cobalt, etc. and attracts or repels other magnets.
The third law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of a closed system at thermodynamic equilibrium approaches a constant value when its temperature approaches absolute zero. This constant value cannot depend on any other parameters characterizing the system, such as pressure or applied magnetic field. At absolute zero the system must be in a state with the minimum possible energy.
Thermoelectric cooling uses the Peltier effect to create a heat flux at the junction of two different types of materials. A Peltier cooler, heater, or thermoelectric heat pump is a solid-state active heat pump which transfers heat from one side of the device to the other, with consumption of electrical energy, depending on the direction of the current. Such an instrument is also called a Peltier device, Peltier heat pump, solid state refrigerator, or thermoelectric cooler (TEC) and occasionally a thermoelectric battery. It can be used either for heating or for cooling, although in practice the main application is cooling. It can also be used as a temperature controller that either heats or cools.
A 3He/4He dilution refrigerator is a cryogenic device that provides continuous cooling to temperatures as low as 2 mK, with no moving parts in the low-temperature region. The cooling power is provided by the heat of mixing of the helium-3 and helium-4 isotopes.
A superconducting magnet is an electromagnet made from coils of superconducting wire. They must be cooled to cryogenic temperatures during operation. In its superconducting state the wire has no electrical resistance and therefore can conduct much larger electric currents than ordinary wire, creating intense magnetic fields. Superconducting magnets can produce stronger magnetic fields than all but the strongest non-superconducting electromagnets, and large superconducting magnets can be cheaper to operate because no energy is dissipated as heat in the windings. They are used in MRI instruments in hospitals, and in scientific equipment such as NMR spectrometers, mass spectrometers, fusion reactors and particle accelerators. They are also used for levitation, guidance and propulsion in a magnetic levitation (maglev) railway system being constructed in Japan.
A refrigerator designed to reach cryogenic temperatures is often called a cryocooler. The term is most often used for smaller systems, typically table-top size, with input powers less than about 20 kW. Some can have input powers as low as 2–3 W. Large systems, such as those used for cooling the superconducting magnets in particle accelerators are more often called cryogenic refrigerators. Their input powers can be as high as 1 MW. In most cases cryocoolers use a cryogenic fluid as the working substance and employ moving parts to cycle the fluid around a thermodynamic cycle. The fluid is typically compressed at room temperature, precooled in a heat exchanger, then expanded at some low temperature. The returning low-pressure fluid passes through the heat exchanger to precool the high-pressure fluid before entering the compressor intake. The cycle is then repeated.
A refrigerator, commonly fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so that its inside is cooled to a temperature below the room temperature. Refrigeration is an essential food storage technique around the world. The low temperature reduces the reproduction rate of bacteria, so the refrigerator lowers the rate of spoilage. A refrigerator maintains a temperature a few degrees above the freezing point of water. The optimal temperature range for perishable food storage is 3 to 5 °C. A freezer is a specialized refrigerator, or portion of a refrigerator, that maintains its contents’ temperature below the freezing point of water. The refrigerator replaced the icebox, which had been a common household appliance for almost a century and a half. The United States Food and Drug Administration recommends that the refrigerator be kept at or below 4 °C (40 °F) and that the freezer be regulated at −18 °C (0 °F).
An absorption refrigerator is a refrigerator that uses a heat source to provide the energy needed to drive the cooling process. Solar energy, burning a fossil fuel, waste heat from factories, and district heating systems are examples of heat sources that can be used. An absorption refrigerator uses two coolants: the first coolant performs evaporative cooling and then is absorbed into the second coolant; heat is needed to reset the two coolants to their initial states. Absorption refrigerators are commonly used in recreational vehicles (RVs), campers, and caravans because the heat required to power them can be provided by a propane fuel burner, by a low-voltage DC electric heater or by a mains-powered electric heater. Absorption refrigerators can also be used to air-condition buildings using the waste heat from a gas turbine or water heater in the building. Using waste heat from a gas turbine makes the turbine very efficient because it first produces electricity, then hot water, and finally, air-conditioning—trigeneration.
The electrocaloric effect is a phenomenon in which a material shows a reversible temperature change under an applied electric field.
Vapour-compression refrigeration or vapor-compression refrigeration system (VCRS), in which the refrigerant undergoes phase changes, is one of the many refrigeration cycles and is the most widely used method for air conditioning of buildings and automobiles. It is also used in domestic and commercial refrigerators, large-scale warehouses for chilled or frozen storage of foods and meats, refrigerated trucks and railroad cars, and a host of other commercial and industrial services. Oil refineries, petrochemical and chemical processing plants, and natural gas processing plants are among the many types of industrial plants that often utilize large vapor-compression refrigeration systems. Cascade refrigeration systems may also be implemented using two compressors.
In thermodynamics, entropy is often associated with the amount of order or disorder in a thermodynamic system. This stems from Rudolf Clausius' 1862 assertion that any thermodynamic process always "admits to being reduced [reduction] to the alteration in some way or another of the arrangement of the constituent parts of the working body" and that internal work associated with these alterations is quantified energetically by a measure of "entropy" change, according to the following differential expression:
Thermodynamic heat pump cycles or refrigeration cycles are the conceptual and mathematical models for heat pump, air conditioning and refrigeration systems. A heat pump is a mechanical system that transmits heat from one location at a certain temperature to another location at a higher temperature. Thus a heat pump may be thought of as a "heater" if the objective is to warm the heat sink, or a "refrigerator" or “cooler” if the objective is to cool the heat source. The operating principles in both cases are the same; energy is used to move heat from a colder place to a warmer place.
The pulse tube refrigerator (PTR) or pulse tube cryocooler is a developing technology that emerged largely in the early 1980s with a series of other innovations in the broader field of thermoacoustics. In contrast with other cryocoolers, this cryocooler can be made without moving parts in the low temperature part of the device, making the cooler suitable for a wide variety of applications.
Barocaloric materials are characterized by strong, reversible thermic responses to changes in pressure. Many involve solid-to-solid phase changes from disordered to ordered and rigid under increased pressure, releasing heat. Barocaloric solids undergo solid-to-solid phase change. One barocaloric material processes heat without a phase change: natural rubber.
The ionocaloric refrigeration cycle is an advanced cooling technology that utilizes the ionocaloric effect, driven by an electrochemical field, to achieve efficient and eco-friendly refrigeration. By manipulating the electrochemical potential through ion addition or removal, significant temperature changes and entropy variations are achieved. This cycle offers a sustainable alternative to traditional refrigeration systems, with potential applications in various industries. Ongoing research is focused on optimizing ionocaloric materials and system design to enhance its performance and viability.
Elastocaloric materials are a class of advanced materials. These materials show a big change in temperature when mechanical stress is applied and then removed.
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