A method for forming a stabilized bed of magneto-caloric material is provided. The method includes aligning magneto-caloric particles within the casing while a magnetic field is applied to the magneto-caloric particles and then fixing positions of the magneto-caloric particles within the casing. A related stabilized bed of magneto-caloric material is also provided.

A refrigerator appliance includes a cold side heat exchanger positioned within a cabinet such that a fresh food chamber and a freezer chamber are chillable with air from the cold side heat exchanger. A regenerator housing is connected to the cold side heat exchanger such that working fluid is flowable from the regenerator housing to the cold side heat exchanger. The working fluid is flowable through a caloric material within the regenerator housing. The refrigerator appliance also includes features for drawing the working fluid from the regenerator housing at a plurality of locations along the length of the caloric material.

Provided is a magnetic heat pump apparatus which solves a problem caused by the use of a rotary valve and which has improved efficiency. The magnetic heat pump apparatus includes magnetic working bodies 11A and 11B, which are provided with magnetic working substances 13 having a magnetocaloric effect and in which a heat transfer medium is circulated, permanent magnets 6 which change the size of a magnetic field to be applied to the magnetic working substances, displacers 8 which cause the heat transfer medium to reciprocate between a high-temperature end 14 and a low-temperature end 16 of each of the magnetic working bodies, and external heat transfer medium circulation circuits 27 and 28 which have external heat exchangers 19 and 22 and which circulate a second heat transfer medium. The external heat transfer medium circulation circuits cause heat exchange to be carried out between the second heat transfer medium and the heat transfer medium of each of the magnetic working bodies, and then circulate the second heat transfer medium which has been subjected to the heat exchange to external heat exchangers.

A heat pump system includes a caloric heat pump with a regenerator housing that is rotatable about an axial direction. A caloric material is disposed within a chamber of the regenerator housing. The caloric material defines a plurality of channels that extend along the axial direction through the caloric material. The channels of the plurality of channels are spaced from one another along a circumferential direction within the caloric material. A working fluid is flowable through the plurality of channels between end portions of the regenerator housing. A related refrigerator appliance is also provided.

A heat exchanger 10 to be used in a magnetic heat pump device includes: an assembly 11 which is formed by bundling wires 12; a case 13 which accommodates the assembly 11 and is provided with at least one cutout 145 or 146; and a filling portion 16 which is filled in the cutout 145 or 146, in which the wire 12 is formed of a magnetocaloric material having a magnetocaloric effect and the filling portion 16 is in close contact with an outer periphery of the assembly 11.

A magnetic refrigeration system includes a plurality of heat transporters, a magnetic field application unit, and a drive mechanism. Each heat transporter is switched between a heat generating and heat absorbing states in response to magnetic field application and cancellation of the magnetic field application. The heat transporters are arranged between low and high temperature side heat exchangers. The magnetic field application unit applies a magnetic field to the heat transporters so that a heat transporter to which a magnetic field is applied and a heat transporter to which a magnetic field is not applied are alternately arranged. The drive mechanism periodically moves at least the plurality of heat transporters so that a heat transporter to which the magnetic field is applied is periodically switched and so that a state of thermal contact is periodically switched. An end portion of at least one heat transporter is a heat transfer accelerator.

A magnetocaloric thermal generator having a primary circuit fluidically connecting first and second stages of magnetocaloric elements using a heat transfer primary fluid flowing alternately back and forth. The stages being subjected to variable magnetic field of a magnetic system. The primary system includes a cold side and a hot side to which the magnetocaloric elements of the stages are fluidically connected. At least the cold side of the primary circuit has an outlet point connected to another point of the primary circuit, referred to as the injection point, on the hot side by a bypass pipe allowing the primary fluid to be displaced only from the outlet point towards the injection point. The magnetocaloric thermal generator is used in a method for cooling the secondary fluid.

A magneto-caloric thermal diode assembly includes a first magneto-caloric cylinder and a second magneto-caloric cylinder. The second magneto-caloric cylinder and a second plurality of thermal stages are nested concentrically within the first magneto-caloric cylinder and a first plurality of thermal stages. A plurality of magnets is distributed along a circumferential direction within a non-magnetic ring in each thermal stage of the first and second pluralities of thermal stages. Each thermal stage of the first and second pluralities of thermal stages has a first half and a second half. A polarity of the magnets of the plurality of magnets within the first half is oriented opposite a polarity of the magnets of the plurality of magnets within the second half along the radial direction in each thermal stage of the first and second pluralities of thermal stages.

This invention relates to magnetocaloric materials comprising ternary alloys useful for magnetic refrigeration applications. The disclosed ternary alloys are Cerium, Neodymium, and/or Gadolinium based compositions that are fairly inexpensive, and in some cases exhibit only 2.sup.nd order magnetic phase transitions near their curie temperature, thus there are no thermal and structural hysteresis losses. This makes these compositions attractive candidates for use in magnetic refrigeration applications. The performance of the disclosed materials is similar or better to many of the known expensive rare-earth based magnetocaloric materials.

A heat pump system that uses variable magnetization to control the amount of MCM subjected to a magnetic field is provided. More particularly, the amount of MCM subjected to a magnetic field can be selected based on the amount of refrigeration needed. As such, the heat pump system can be adjusted based on e.g., changes in ambient conditions, and the energy used in operating such a heat pump system can be conserved so as to increase energy efficiency of the system.