A Torsion-Modulated Magnetocaloric Cooling Module

The unit described in this study is a magnetocaloric cooling module intended for cooling electronics cabinets without a vapour-compression circuit. Its operating principle is that a gadolinium regenerator is magnetised and demagnetised in a periodic field whose modulation is phased by a torsion-coupled actuator, pumping heat from a cold plate to a warm sink by the magnetocaloric effect. The design is computed from stated assumptions throughout; it is simulated, not measured, and no prototype results are reported. The headline result is a cooling power of 520 W, obtained with drive power of 168 W with a computed efficiency or performance coefficient of 33.2 per cent where that measure applies, for a unit of mass 4.5 kg whose characteristic scale is a refrigerant mass of 0.8 kg. A parameter sweep reported in the Results section shows how the output moves when the principal variable is changed, and the density of the working material, 7.9e+03 kg per cubic metre, sits about 54.1 orders of magnitude below the neutron-carrier density bound of 9.72e+57 kg per cubic metre, so the bound enters this design as a sizing ceiling and a margin statement rather than as an operating condition. The limitations are stated plainly: cooling power is bounded by the entropy change of the refrigerant and by regenerator pressure drop; the module does not approach the Carnot coefficient at high frequency. Status: SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED.