Enhanced thermal performance of a magnetocaloric heat-pump prototype based on new morphology particles for energy-efficient refrigeration

Recently, there has been considerable research into new cooling and heat pumping technologies, due to environmental concerns related to traditional gaseous refrigerant-based systems. One of most researched alternative methods is magnetocaloric cooling. This paper shows that a porous magnetocaloric regenerator manufactured by pressing metal flakes demonstrates superior thermal performance as a magnetocaloric system than a commonly used regenerator with spherical filling. The proposed method of manufacture can be performed using a hydraulic press and a lathe, without the need for specialized equipment, such as a metal atomization machine. Also, our method allows to easily and quickly manufacture a porous structure from ductile materials that are difficult to process using other methods, such as sintering. Even small amounts of active material, in the order of a few tens of grams, can be transformed from bulk material to porous structure. This is especially important during laboratory research of new alloys which are not commercially available. The pressed flakes structure offers a superior surface area to volume ratio, thus achieving better heat transfer and, as a result, better cooling performance of the system, despite identical weight of active material. © 2025