There are provided a magnetic work body capable of being easily laminated and a magnetic heat pump device using the same. A magnetic work body is provided with a plate-shaped body 31 formed of a magnetic work substance, in which a gap forming deformation portion 32 serving as a gap adjusting member in laminating is formed in the plate-shaped body.

A device comprising one or more heat transfer laminates each including an electrode, a first dielectric layer on a first side of the electrode, and a second dielectric layer on a second side of the electrode; a plurality of flexible electrocaloric elements, each of the flexible electrocaloric elements including an electrocaloric material layer, a flexible electrode layer on the electrocaloric layer, one or more fixed portions each attached to one of heat transfer laminates, and a movable portion that is movable with respect to the one of the heat transfer laminates.

A method for operating an elasto-caloric heat pump includes running the elasto-caloric heat pump with a pre-strain in an elasto-caloric stage of the elasto-caloric heat pump set to an initial pre-strain setting, and gradually shifting the pre-strain in the elasto-caloric stage of the elasto-caloric heat pump set away from the initial pre-strain setting and towards a final pre-strain setting over a time interval.

One embodiment provides a method of controlling a payload temperature in in vitro diagnostics including: moving, using a track system, a plurality of carriers, along one or more paths between a plurality of testing stations, wherein the carrier is configured to hold one or more payloads, and limiting, using a temperature controlling device, temperature change of the one or more payloads, wherein each carrier is configured to hold one or more payloads and move the one or more payloads to one of the plurality of testing stations. Other aspects are described and claimed herein.

The present invention refers to a hybrid thermal apparatus comprising at least one heat exchanger and at least one heat source and/or heat sink. The thermal apparatus according to the invention is formed as a combination of a first thermal apparatus (1, 15) based on a vapour-compression principle and comprising a first medium for heat transfer, and of a second thermal apparatus (2, 16) based on an elastocaloric principle and comprising a second medium for heat transfer. Said thermal apparatuses (1, 15; 2, 16) have at least one deformable heat exchanger (3, 21) of elastocaloric material in common.

A heat dissipation device, a terminal, and a method for controlling a heat dissipation device are provided. The heat dissipation device includes a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer disposed opposite to each other, and a power supply control circuit coupled with the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer. The first conductive layer is made of a thermal conductive material. The power supply control circuit is configured to alternately apply, between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer, a first electric field and a second electric field which are in opposite directions.

A ferroelectric polymer electrocaloric nanowire array and a preparation method thereof, in which the ferroelectric polymer electrocaloric material is formed by a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based ferroelectric polymer electrocaloric nanowire array embedded in a porous anodic alumimum oxide (AAO) template. The PVDF-based ferroelectric polymer electrocaloric material is controlled to form a nanowire array embedded in the porous AAO template, and through adopting of a solution infiltration method to prepare the ferroelectric polymer electrocaloric nanowire array in the porous AAO template and improvement of the key morphology, structure, internal microscopic connection construction of the ferroelectric polymer, problems, such as low electrocaloric strength of the ferroelectric polymer, difficult heat conduction in the electrocaloric material and low refrigerating power density of the electrocaloric device in the prior art, can be effectively solved.

A heat transfer system cycles between a first mode where a heat transfer fluid is directed to a first electrocaloric module and from the first electrocaloric module to a heat exchanger to a second electrocaloric module while one of the first and second electrocaloric modules is energized, and a second mode where the heat transfer fluid is directed to the second electrocaloric module and from the second electrocaloric module to the heat exchanger to the first electrocaloric module, while the other of the first and second electrocaloric modules is energized. The modes are repeatedly cycled in alternating order directing the heat transfer fluid to cause a temperature gradient in each of the first and second electrocaloric modules, and heat is rejected to the fluid from the heat exchanger or is absorbed by the heat exchanger from the fluid.

An electrocaloric element for a heat transfer system includes an electrocaloric material of a copolymer of (i) vinylidene fluoride, (ii) an addition polymerization monomer selected from tetrafluoroethylene, trifluoroethylene, vinyl fluoride, or combinations thereof, and (iii) a halogenated addition polymerization monomer larger than vinylidene fluoride. It is also provided that: (a) the monomer (ii) includes an addition polymerization monomer smaller than trifluoroethylene, (b) at least one of the addition polymerization monomers (ii) or (iii) is a chiral monomer, and the copolymer includes syndiotactic ordered segments of chiral monomer units, and/or (c) at least one of the addition polymerization monomers (ii) or (iii) comprises chlorine, and the copolymer includes an ordered distribution of monomer units comprising chlorine along the copolymer polymer backbone.

An active regenerator in a magnetocaloric or an electrocaloric heat pump refrigeration system provides more efficient flow of heat. The heat exchange fluid moves synchronously with the motion of a magnetic or electric field. Only a portion of the length of the active regenerator bed is introduced to or removed from the field at one time, giving rise to a hot pulse and a cold pulse. Valves may direct the hot pulse and/or the cold pulse to supplement refrigeration.