Simplified numerical model of magnetocaloric cooling device

In the present paper the laboratory scale test stand of a magnetic cooling device is briefly introduced. One set of measurements, for a given geometry of a magnetic bed filled with gadolinium, are presented and used as reference results for developing a zero-dimensional (0D) mathematical model. The 0D model assumes adiabatic heat transfer in the magnetic bed and thermal interaction of the system with surrounding ambient air. Moreover, it takes into consideration the basic dimensions of the bed geometry. Its results give a theoretical upper limit of a temperature span of the proposed magnetic cooling device. The ultimate goal of the proposed 0D numerical model is to gain insight into the basic physics needed to build a full CFD model and optimize system efficiency so as to approach the theoretical temperature limits.