Work

Energetic comparison of rotation and translation processes in magnetic refrigeration

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Conventional magnetic refrigeration relies on removing a magnetic refrigerant from a magnetic field to induce demagnetization and an adiabatic change in temperature. An emerging alternative, the demagnetizing field-induced magnetocaloric effect (dRMCE), achieves cooling by rotating a shape-anisotropic refrigerant, using changes in the demagnetizing field instead of physical displacement. A key advantage of this approach is its potential for higher energetic efficiency due to reduced work input. This study evaluates that claim by numerically com- paring the magnetic work and heat generation in dRMCE and conventional magnetocaloric effect (MCE). Using finite element analysis, we simulate the demagnetizing field of a thin polycrystalline gadolinium plate in both processes, tracking step-by-step energy changes. Our results demonstrate that, despite producing a smaller adiabatic temperature change (DT) and less isothermal heat, the dRMCE consistently outperforms conventional MCE in heat-per-work efficiency, exhibiting 20%–80% higher efficiency in isothermal demagnetization and 40%– 80% higher efficiency in adiabatic demagnetization (followed by isomagnetic heating).

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17632632

Authors: Berganton de Souza, Henrique, Kiefe, Rodrigo, Amaral, Joao

Institution: University of Aveiro

Language: English

Topic: Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials

Subfield: Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: European Commission

Award: G211717529