Evaluation of the reliability of the measurement of key magnetocaloric properties: A round robin study of La(Fe,Si,Mn)Hδ conducted by the SSEEC consortium of European laboratories

The management of refrigeration of our homes, our food and our work environments in energy efficient ways is of increasing importance. Refrigeration using solid state magnetic cooling is one of a number of technologies that may make a significant contribution to addressing this problem. In order to develop materials that may enable commercial development of this increasingly relevant field it is important to review the reliability of methods used to extract key physical properties, so that as magnetic refrigeration matures the research community can develop recognised standards of measurement. Here we measure the physical properties in one composition taken from a series of La(Fe,Si,Mn)Hδ 1:13-type samples grown by a source laboratory and measured independently in a consortium of European laboratories using both commercial and bespoke facilities.

► Show variance in independently measured M, Cp, S, and Tad. ► Sample geometry and preparation methods may strongly affect resulting properties. ► Measurement protocols need to be clearly defined. ► Demonstrates need for material standards within MCE community.