IIR document

Numerical modelling and experimental validation of a regenerative electrocaloric cooler.

Author(s) : PLAZNIK U., VRABELJ M., KUTNJAK Z., et al.

Type of article: Article, IJR article

Summary

This paper reports on the research and development of a cooling device with an active electrocaloric regenerator (AER) based on the bulk ceramic material (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–xPbTiO3 (PMN-100xPT). For the purposes of the study a 2D transient numerical model of the AER was developed. This model makes it possible to investigate the cooling characteristics of a device with an AER while considering the effect of the hysteresis of the electrocaloric material and the effect of the electric-energy recovery related to the polarization/depolarization process. The results of the numerical analyses show that the degree of electric energy recovery has a major impact on the efficiency of the device. By considering an idealised system for electric-energy recovery the energy efficiency (expressed by the coefficient of performance) of the device could be increased by up to ten times. A validation of the numerical model was performed through the design, construction and experiments on an improved AER cooling device. The results revealed a maximum specific cooling power of 16?W kg-1 and a maximum temperature span of 3.1?K for the new device.

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Pages: 139-149

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Details

  • Original title: Numerical modelling and experimental validation of a regenerative electrocaloric cooler.
  • Record ID : 30025374
  • Languages: English
  • Source: International Journal of Refrigeration - Revue Internationale du Froid - vol. 98
  • Publication date: 2019/02
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2018.10.029

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