Magnetic refrigerant material, regenerator and magnetic refrigerator
AssigneeMeomax Co., Ltd.
InventorsHirofumi Wada, Satoshi Hirosawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A magnetic refrigerant material exhibits sufficiently great magnetocaloric effect at or near room temperature. The magnetic refrigerant material has an NiAs type hexagonal structure in a ferromagnetic phase. The magnetic refrigerant material includes a first element Mn, a second element As and a third element to substitute for a portion of the second element, and exhibits a magnetic phase transition in a temperature range from about 230 K to less than about 318 K.
Claims16
A magnetic refrigerant material having an NiAs type hexagonal structure in a ferromagnetic phase, comprising a first element Mn, a second element As and a third element to substitute for a portion of the second element, and exhibiting a magnetic phase transition in a temperature range from about 230 K to less than about 318 K.
A regenerator comprising:
- first and second regenerative beds, each including a magnetic refrigerant material having an NiAs type hexagonal structure in a ferromagnetic phase, comprising a first element Mn, a second element As and a third element to substitute for a portion of the second element, and exhibiting a magnetic phase transition in a temperature range from about 230 K to less than about 318 K;
- and
- a mechanism for applying mutually different magnetic fields to the first and second regenerative beds.
A regenerator comprising:
- a magnetic circuit for variably controlling the strength of a magnetic field generated therefrom inside a cylindrical space;
- and
- a regenerative bed, which is disposed and fixed inside the cylindrical space and includes a magnetic refrigerant material having an NiAs type hexagonal structure in a ferromagnetic phase, comprising a first element Mn, a second element As and a third element to substitute for a portion of the second element, and exhibiting a magnetic phase transition in a temperature range from about 230 K to less than about 318 K.
A magnetic refrigerator comprising:
- a regenerator including:
- first and second regenerative beds, each including a magnetic refrigerant material having an NiAs type hexagonal structure in a ferromagnetic phase, comprising a first element Mn, a second element As and a third element to substitute for a portion of the second element, and exhibiting a magnetic phase transition in a temperature range from about 230 K to less than about 318 K;
- and
- a mechanism for applying mutually different magnetic fields to the first and second regenerative beds;
- and
- a cold-side heat exchanger and a hot-side heat exchanger that are thermally coupled to the regenerator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.