Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1799465 | Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials | 2015 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
We report the processing, analysis and testing of magnetocaloric composite materials consisting of La-Fe-Co-Si particles of various size fractions and a polymer matrix. All of the composites have working temperatures close to room temperature. The composites were pressed into thin plates, a geometry favorable for testing the composites in an active magnetic regenerator (AMR). In order to investigate the influence of particle size and binder type (epoxy), eight different epoxy-bonded La-Fe-Co-Si plates were made and analyzed. We found that the higher filling factor that can be achieved by using a mixture of several particle size fractions has beneficial influence on the thermal conductivity. Tests in the AMR revealed that a maximum temperature span of approximately ÎT=10 K under magnetic field change of μ0H=1.15 T can be obtained at no cooling load conditions. The stability of the measured ÎT values and the mechanical integrity of sample after cyclic application of a magnetic field have been monitored for 90,000 cycles and showed no significant changes. We therefore conclude that epoxy-bonded La-Fe-Co-Si magnetocaloric composites have good magnetocaloric properties at low material-processing costs and hence represent a competitive way to produce magnetocaloric materials to be used in AMR.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Condensed Matter Physics
Authors
Barbara Pulko, Jaka Tušek, James D. Moore, Bruno Weise, Konstantin Skokov, Oleg Mityashkin, Andrej Kitanovski, Chiara Favero, Peter Fajfar, Oliver Gutfleisch, Anja Waske, Alojz Poredoš,