Design Issues and Future Perspectives for Magnetocaloric Energy Conversion - Magnetocaloric Energy Conversion: From Theory to Applications - page 327

Chapter 8
Design Issues and Future Perspectives
for Magnetocaloric Energy Conversion

This chapter provides information about the design characteristics for particular
types of magnetic refrigerators and heat pumps. The sections therefore indicate the
different categories to which a particular magnetocaloric device can belong. For
these we show the different design con gurations. These are related to linear

devices that are based on the linear movement of a magnetic eld source or

magnetocaloric material; rotary devices, which are based on the rotation of the
magnetic eld source or the rotation of the magnetocaloric material; and static

magnetocaloric devices. Some of the con

gurations were already applied in
research. However, we also present a few new solutions, which are based on our
research experiences and which might be applied in future studies and related
devices. We again address the importance of the thermal diode mechanism in
combination with the active magnetic regeneration (AMR) principle. In addition, a
note on power generation is added, with a brief review of the existing work in this
particular domain. By pointing out the most successful design approaches, this
chapter also serves as a future guideline on the magnetic refrigeration and heat
pumping.
Since the magnetocaloric devices will, in the following decade, most probably
start to penetrate some market niches, it is important, before starting, to address the
standardization (or classi cation) issue relating to magnetocaloric energy conver-

sion. Only a few studies have been performed in this particular and very important
domain. However, the research community in the eld of magnetocaloric energy

conversion decided to enter such a standardization process.
For instance, for devices, Scarpa et al. in 2012 [ 1 ] proposed a classi

cation

method for room-temperature magnetic refrigerators. They proposed a classi cation

of magnetic refrigerators using 12 different criteria, marked by the numbers 1 - 12.
Here, we denote these; however, we marked in bold a slight addition and changes
that we think should be included or modi

ed in such a classi cation.

(1) Device type (0 for single-stage cycle without regeneration, 1 for passive
regeneration, 2 for active regeneration),
(2) magnet type (0 for permanent, 1 for electromagnet),
(3) type of permanent magnets (0 for simple magnets, 1 for 2D magnets with

Halbach principle, 2 for 3D magnets with Halbach principle),