Numerical modeling on a reciprocating active magnetic regenerator refrigeration in room temperature

Considering the unignorable factors in practice, a new time independent, 2-dimensional porous media model of room-temperature Active Magnetic Regenerative Refrigeration (AMRR) has been proposed. The 2-D model improved the existing 1-dimensional model by introducing the influence of heat transfer effect though the regenerator wall and conduction for y-axis inside the regenerator. This study compared the previous 1-D model with the 2-D model and concluded that the system can lose 22% of cooling capacity caused by air convection and the conduction loss in y can reach to 10% of cooling capacity. It is concluded that the new model will be useful to predict the performance of room AMRR for more practical conditions. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.