An apparatus comprising: an active magnetic regenerative regenerator comprising multiple successive layers, wherein each layer comprises an independently compositionally distinct magnetic refrigerant material having Curie temperatures 18-22 K apart between successively adjacent layers, and the layers are arranged in successive Curie temperature order and magnetic refrigerant material mass order with a first layer having the highest Curie temperature layer and highest magnetic refrigerant material mass and the last layer having the lowest Curie temperature layer and lowest magnetic refrigerant material mass.

Provided is a gadolinium wire rod including gadolinium as a main component, wherein the average particle size of a segregated phase containing fluorine atom and/or chlorine atom is 2 m or less. The present invention can provide a gadolinium wire rod high in strength and excellent in processability.

The invention relates to a magnetocaloric generator includes a set of porous active elements based of MCM materials, and a magnetic arrangement. The magnetic arrangement includes two superposed magnetic rotors, namely an external magnetic rotor and an internal magnetic rotor delimiting an air gap between them, and includes one same number of magnetic poles. The set of active elements includes a stator disposed in said air gap. The active elements extending axially in said stator enable a two-directional axial circulation of a heat-transfer fluid between a hot end and a cold end of said generator. The external magnetic rotor is advantageously coupled, on the one hand, to an electrical machine by a mechanical coupling, and on the other hand, to said internal magnetic rotor by a magnetic coupling, such that said rotors move in one same direction of rotation and are magnetically synchronous.

The invention relates to a magnetocaloric generator includes a set of porous active elements based of MCM materials, and a magnetic arrangement. The magnetic arrangement includes two superposed magnetic rotors, namely an external magnetic rotor and an internal magnetic rotor delimiting an air gap between them, and includes one same number of magnetic poles. The set of active elements includes a stator disposed in said air gap. The active elements extending axially in said stator enable a two-directional axial circulation of a heat-transfer fluid between a hot end and a cold end of said generator. The external magnetic rotor is advantageously coupled, on the one hand, to an electrical machine by a mechanical coupling, and on the other hand, to said internal magnetic rotor by a magnetic coupling, such that said rotors move in one same direction of rotation and are magnetically synchronous.

A terminal may be provided with a magnetic regenerator unit using a magnetocaloric effect of magnetocaloric materials and a magnetic cooling system having the same. By a circular magnetic regenerator structure capable of evenly flowing heat transfer fluid and magnetic field and the flow of the heat transfer fluid being changed in the same way, and a magnetic band having a relative permeability, similar to a relative permeability of the magnetic regenerator, high efficiency of a flux generator may be obtained while reducing torque of a rotator. Power consumption for driving may be reduced due to the reduction of the cogging torque, and the magnetic band may be manufactured at a low cost by using inexpensive iron powder.

A method for forming a caloric regenerator includes forming a first caloric material stage from a first plurality of caloric material layers by repeatedly laying down a first powder for each layer of the first plurality of caloric material layers, applying a first binder material onto the first powder for each layer of the plurality of first caloric material layers, and then fixing the layers of the first plurality of caloric material layers to one another. A second caloric material stage is formed in a similar manner. The first and second caloric material stages are stackable to form the caloric regenerator.

A solar power system includes a plurality of solar power cells mounted on an outer surface of a spherical frame, the spherical frame including an inner surface that defines an interior volume; a heat sink that includes a hollow housing mounted within the interior volume of the spherical frame; and a phase change material positioned in the hollow housing of the heat sink, the phase change material thermally coupled to the inner surface of the spherical frame to receive heat from the outer surface of the spherical frame.

The invention relates to a magnetocaloric lattice element formed by fibres of magnetocaloric material, wherein the fibres are arranged in respective parallel lattice planes, each fibre having a respective mass of magnetocaloric material, the fibres of a given lattice plane do not contact each other but each fibre of a given lattice plane is attached to at least two fibres in a next neighbouring lattice plane, and wherein the magnetocaloric lattice element exhibits exactly one predominant mass-weighted direction of longitudinal fibre extension. When arranged in alignment of its predominant mass-weighted direction of longitudinal fibre extension with an external magnetic field, the magnetocaloric lattice element achieves an advantageous, particularly high magnetization of the magnetocaloric material, and as a consequence improves the performance of the magnetocaloric cooling device.

A magnetic refrigerator, and a device including the same, include a hot-end heat exchanger, a cold-end heat exchanger, a magnetic material arranged so as to provide a temperature gradient between the hot-end heat exchanger and the cold-end heat exchanger, and a heat exchange medium, and satisfying the following Equation 1.
k=T.sub.h/T.sub.c=S.sub.c/S.sub.h>1EQUATION 1
In Equation 1, T.sub.h is a temperature of a hot-end heat exchanger, T.sub.c is a temperature of a cold-end heat exchanger, S.sub.h is an entropy change of a magnetic material at T.sub.h, and S.sub.c is an entropy change of a magnetic material at T.sub.c.

Generating temperature difference from kinetic energy using rotating magnetocaloric materials: Series connection of magnetocaloric materials expands the temperature difference region and produces a cooling system without vibration noise.