Experimental analysis of a two-material active magnetic regenerator

Experimental results of an active magnetic regenerator (AMR) composed of two equal volumes of gadolinium and Gd0.85Er0.15 using 2 T and 5 T are reported. Drive forces and system losses are measured as a function of thermal load and magnetic field. Metrics for coefficient of performance and efficiency are defined and used to distinguish between regenerator and device performance. Results suggest the largest temperature spans are expected to occur when each material is operating with its average temperature near their Curie temperatures. Force measurements indicate that mechanical losses and pumping power are the most significant contributions to network while the net magnetic work is too small to be resolved. COP values for the magnetic cycle are as high as 2.4 while efficiencies are all less than 0.15. A maximum exergetic cooling of 1.94 W is estimated with a corresponding specific exergetic cooling power of 23 W T-1L-1. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.