Numerical modeling for active magnetic regenerative refrigeration

A one dimensional time-dependent model of the active magnetic regenerator (AMR) cycle is developed and is validated by experimental measurements. The active regenerator is made of gadolinium in sheets of 50 mm length (L) and 1 mm thickness (y/sub r/). The circulating fluid consists of a thin film of water (y/sub r/ = 0.1 mm). In this study, a uniform flow with a constant velocity /spl nu/ is considered. In addition the model assumes that the diffusion phenomenon is negligible along the bed and considers only convection exchanges between the regenerator and the fluid which is verified in this study regarding the geometry and the characteristics of the used materials. This model can and will be used to optimize the AMR cycle for a given magnetic refrigeration application. This model can be improved to take into account diffusion phenomena.