ABSTRACT MAGNETIC REFRIGERATION

In recent years environmental aspects have been becoming an increasingly important issue in the design and development of refrigeration system. Especially in the vapour compression system, the banning of CFCs and HCFCs because of there environmental disadvantages has made way for other refrigeration technologies. One of these emerging technologies is magnetic refrigeration. Magnetic refrigeration, based on magnetocaloric effect (MCE), has received increased attention as an alternative to the well-established compression-evapouration cycle for room temperature application. The technique can be used to attain extremely low temperature (well below 1K), as well as the ranges used in common refrigerators depending on the design of the system. The common refrigent used in this type of refrigeration is gadolinium and its alloys. Gadoliniums temperature is observed to increase when it enters certain magnetic fields. When it leaves the magnetic field, the temperature drops. The effect is considerably stronger for the gadolinium alloy. This effect forms the basis of magnetic refrigeration. The magnetic refrigeration cycle can be performed quasi static which results in the possibility to operate close to Carnot efficiency. Magnetic refrigeration is an environmentally friendly cooling technique. It does not use ozone depleting chemicals, hazardous chemicals and greenhouse gases.

Submitted by Arjun Jayakumar S7, Me1 15