Development of a tube-based elastocaloric regenerator loaded in compression : a review

DallʹOlio, Stefano (author), Ahčin, Žiga (author), Žerovnik, Andrej (author), Kabirifar, Parham (author), Brojan, Miha (author), Tušek, Jaka (author)

In recent years, devices based on the elastocaloric effect (eCE) have emerged as one of the most promising alternatives to vaporcompression cooling and heating systems. After a brief overview of elastocaloric materials and elastocaloric devices developed to date, this paper reviews our recent activities in the development of tube-based elastocaloric regenerators loaded in compression. These include the evaluation of novel elastocaloric thermodynamic cycles, the characterization of the elastocaloric and fatigue behavior of Ni–Ti tubes, the thermo-hydraulic evaluation of a tubebased geometry to be applied as an elastocaloric regenerator, the buckling analysis of Ni–Ti tube in compression, and finally the development, numerical modeling, and testing of a tube-based elastocaloric regenerator in both cooling and heat-pumping modes. The developed regenerator shows a durable operation with more than 300,000 cycles, a maximum temperature span of more than 31 K at zero thermal load, and a heating power of more than 60 W at a temperature span of 10 K using only 13.7 g of elastocaloric material. In addition, further improvements of the tube-based elastocaloric regenerators related to a lower thermal mass of the regenerator’s housing are shown and discussed.

• Language: English
• Keywords: elastocaloric effect, shape memory alloys, buckling, elastocaloric regenerator, fatigue life, cooling, heat pumps
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: Str. 99-118
• Numbering: Vol. 10, iss. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-161359
• UDC: 621.56:620.178.3
• ISSN on article: 2199-384X
• DOI: 10.1007/s40830-024-00483-z
• COBISS.SI-ID: 206932739
• Publication date in RUL: 10.09.2024

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Shape memory and superelasticity
• Shortened title: Shape memory superelast.
• Publisher: Springer Nature, ASM International
• ISSN: 2199-384X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 175460611

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: elastokalorični učinek, zlitine s spominom oblike, upogibanje, elastokalorični regenerator, utrujanje, hlajenje, toplotne črpalke

Projects

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Funding programme: H2020
• Project number: 803669
• Name: Superelastic Porous Structures for Efficient Elastocaloric Cooling
• Acronym: SUPERCOOL

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P2-0422
• Name: Funkcionalne tekočine za napredne energetske sisteme