Numerical simulation and performance improvement of a multi-polar concentric Halbach cylindrical magnet for magnetic refrigeration

Multi-polar concentric Halbach cylinders of magnets could generate the magnetic field varying considerably in the annular gaps, thus were applied in the rotary magnetic refrigerators. In the current investigation, a six-polar concentric Halbach cylinder is developed based on the ideal concentric one by the numerical simulation with COMSOL Multiphysics. Cylinder radii are optimized and magnet material profiles are adjusted for a better overall performance (Λcool). Moreover, the segmentation on the concentric cylinder is conducted for an easy fabrication, and the edge effect of finite-length device is studied. With the present investigation, it is found that a larger external radius of external cylinder facilitates a larger flux density in the high field region (|B|¯high), while Λcool could be worse. Meanwhile, with the removal of magnet materials enclosed by the equipotential lines of magnetic vector potential, the magnetic flux density in low field region (|B|¯low) drops from 0.271 to 0.0136 T, and Λcool rises from 1.36 to 1.85 T0.7. Moreover, a proper segmentation would not degrade the difference between |B|¯high and |B|¯low, on the contrary, Λcool rises by about 20.2% due to magnet materials lack for efficiency replaced by soft irons. Finally, current 3D simulation indicates the edge effect on Λcool could be trivial.