Electrocaloric cooling : the importance of electric-energy recovery and heat regeneration

Plaznik, Uroš (author), Vrabelj, Marko (author), Kutnjak, Zdravko (author), Malič, Barbara (author), Poredoš, Alojz (author), Kitanovski, Andrej (author)

Here we explore the effect of electric-energy recovery and heat regeneration on the energy efficiency of an electrocaloric-cooling system. Furthermore, the influence of the polarizationelectric field hysteresis on the energy efficiency of the system is analysed. For the purposes of the analysis, the properties of (1 % x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPbTiO3 (PMN-100xPT) with x = 0, x = 0.1, and x = 0.35 are characterized. We show that if no heat is regenerated, even small irreversibilities in the electric circuit used to recover the electric energy can cause a significant drop in the achievable energy efficiency. On the other hand, when a heat regeneration process is considered and a realistic value for the degree of electric-energy recovery equal to 80% is assumed, the limit for the energy efficiency of a system employing PMN ceramics is estimated to be equal to 81% of the efficiency of a Carnot heat pump.

• Language: English
• Keywords: heat regeneration, electrocaloric cooling, electric-energy recovery, energy analysis
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Author Accepted Manuscript
• Submitted for review: 16.07.2015
• Article acceptance date: 03.09.2015
• Publication date: 28.09.2015
• Year: 2015
• Number of pages: Str. 57009-1-57009-6
• Numbering: Vol. 111, no. 5, art. 57009
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-126396
• UDC: 621.5:620.9(045)
• ISSN on article: 0295-5075
• DOI: 10.1209/0295-5075/111/57009
• COBISS.SI-ID: 14221083
• Publication date in RUL: 20.04.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Europhysics letters
• Shortened title: Europhys. lett.
• Publisher: IOP Publishing et al.
• ISSN: 0295-5075
• COBISS.SI-ID: 25434880

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: elektrokalorično hlajenje, regeneracija toplote, regeneracija električne energije, energijska analiza