Comparison of Thermo-Hydraulic Properties of Heat Regenerators Applicable to Active Magnetic Refrigerators

This paper describes passive heat regenerators appropriate for active magnetic refrigerators (AMR) and evaluates them from the point of view of thermo-hydraulic characteristics and magnetic properties. A dimensionless numerical model for the determination of the heat transfer coefficient is used together with experimental data for the evaluation of six different regenerator geometries using heat transfer, pressure drop and thermal efficiency as evaluation criteria. An existing numerical model was upgraded with magnetic properties and employed in the computer programme for an active magnetic regenerator in which the magnetic properties are obtained using molecular field approximation. The model was tested for thermodynamic consistency and verified using available experimental data