Roadmap for electrocaloric films characterization

Regis de Moraes, Victor (author), Tomc, Urban (author), Kitanovski, Andrej (author), Uršič Nemevšek, Hana (author)

The development of electrocaloric (EC) elements for cooling technologies has progressed by integrating the EC layers onto various substrates. However, a precise understanding of heat losses on direct characterization methods is still lacking, particularly in the infrared (IR) camera method. In this work, we perform numerical simulations on EC film structures to benchmark the substrate influence on the cooling output of the structure for characterization purposes. Substrates with low thermal effusivity (≤3 kW ▫$s^{1/2} m^{−2} K^{−1}$▫) exhibit minimal influence on the output of films. Simulations were also performed to investigate the impact of EC film and black-paint coating thicknesses on the correction factor for IR characterization methods. A single-digit correction factor can be achieved if the EC film is thicker than the coating. Our results offer a roadmap for designing EC structures for cooling at the micro-to-nano scales.

• Language: English
• Keywords: simulation in materials science, materials characterization techniques, films, IR thermography, thin-film coatings, electrocaloric elements
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 8, e1 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 29, issue 6, art. 115965
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-182918
• UDC: 620.1:621.384.3
• ISSN on article: 2589-0042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.115965
• COBISS.SI-ID: 279632131
• Publication date in RUL: 28.05.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: iScience
• Publisher: Cell Press, Elsevier
• ISSN: 2589-0042
• COBISS.SI-ID: 24098568

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: znanost o materialih, simulacija, karakterizacija materialov, premazi, IR termografija, tankoslojni nanosi, elektrokalorični elementi