Experimental and numerical comparison of multi-layered La(Fe,Si,Mn)13Hy active magnetic regenerators

We present an experimental and numerical comparison of epoxy bonded multi-layered La(Fe,Si,Mn)13Hy active magnetic regenerators. First, no-load tests were performed on four regenerators with two layers of material and varying amounts of epoxy (from 1 wt% to 4 wt%) in order to find the amount of epoxy necessary to maintain the mechanical integrity of the regenerators. As the second part of the study, experimental results of two regenerators with five and nine layers are compared to predictions from the one-dimensional numerical model. A maximum temperature span, ΔTspan, over 20 K was measured and it is effectively equal for both regenerators. The numerical modelling was generally in good agreement with experimental results.