New giant magnetocaloric materials round room temperature and applications to magnetic refrigeration – MagCool

Needs of cooling and refrigeration systems absorb more than 15% of the total worldwide electric production, as requested and used in many fields such as food and pharmacy industries, buildings, transports.. Almost all fridge machine use the classical principle of compression/depression of gases, but this technique gives rise to huge amounts of CO2 (electrical energy) and generates leaks of the very detrimental fluids to ozone layer that are HCFC and CFC. Both aspects markedly contribute to the green house gas effect. New frigorigen fluids are less effective and more difficult to control.
From a technological breakthrough, magnetic refrigeration principle leads to easy design compact, silent and energy efficient machines. The principle is based on a giant magnetocaloric effect (MCE) exhibited close to RT by specific magnetic materials, Magnetization/demagnetization of these MCE bodies in the close vicinity of ordering temperature leads to develop heat/cold within the material related to the adiabatic principle of magnetization..Successive cycle magnetization = heat-demagnetization = cool down allow describe a Carnot type cycle, is quite original comparison made with the today technology.

Questions with this new principle can be addressed to four major points that are considered for in the present proposal.
1 Search for new and performing MCE materials based on cheap as possible elements (less RE metals)
2 Develop small scale productions via processes that can be up-scaled in industry
3 Design magnetocaloric bodies (from powders) to form elements of moving or rotating machines, besides allowing efficient thermal exchange with specific fluids
4 Optimise electromagnetic efficiency of systems built of strong permanent magnets, soft magnetic circuits and MCE bodies. This new deal of promising refrigeration system arising ~ 10 years ago implies a wide panel of multidisciplinary activities and knowledge’s.
The proposers are all actively involved at least in one of the many fields required to develop all aspects of the field. Most of them are still involved in collaborating activities devoted to the most promising series, with Gd based materials and more especially the FeSiLa type compounds. There are AMSNA - McPhy Energy - INSTITUT NEEL/CRETA – G2ELab – Cooltech Applications aiming design functional fridge MCE machines, mass production of powder being handled by ERASTEEL and AMSNA. Small scale production was made effective, which efficiency is at least as good as the reference but expensive Gd, but far from the expected max. performance
The present project is based first from experience, but fundamental and theoretical approaches are considered for a better understanding, not only in terms of materials and their physical properties, but as well for the design of efficient (magnetic couplings, heat transfers, COP). For this doing the project gather the recognized competence of solid state material scientists from INSTITUT NEEL/CRETA, ICMCB, CRISMAT, and engineer “frigorists” from Cooltech, G2Elab, LGeCo, the consortium being linked by industrial specialist for high tech metallurgy and processes from McPhy, ERASTEEL and AMSNA.
France owns the fair and unique advantage to own the whole panel of specialists in the many required fields of academic knowledge and industrial know-how, with the many important and high level characterization instruments, just effective in chemistry, metallurgy, fine product synthesis, functional techniques on one side and calculation, numerical simulation, heat transfer engineering.. on the other side.
So the present project aims to federate forces in a operating consortium, to succeed in the new, clean and effective refrigeration technology, gaining the position of worldwide leader in the field, benefits made for economy and society.