Evaluation of industrial magnetic heat pump/refrigerator concepts that utilize superconducting magnets
- 1 June 1989
- report
- Published by Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI)
Abstract
This report provides a preliminary assessment of some magnetic heat pump (MHP)/refrigeration concepts for cryogen liquefaction and other industrial applications. The study was performed by Astronautics Corporation of America for Argonne National Laboratory under the sponsorship of the US Department of Energy. Applications of interest range from the liquefaction of gases (20 K to 100 K) to cold storage refrigeration for food preservation (250 K to 320 K) to heat pumps utilizing industrial waste heat (350 K to 400 K). Initial market penetration of magnetic refrigeration devices is anticipated for low-temperature industrial applications such as the cryogen liquefaction field, and the major focus of the study is on hydrogen liquefaction (20 K) utilizing a liquid nitrogen heat sink (77 K). A brief market analysis indicated that there is a need for small ({approximately}1 ton/day liquid hydrogen) hydrogen liquefiers with dispersed usage at appropriate sites in the country to reduce distribution costs. This provides an ideal market niche for magnetic liquefiers since conventional gas-cycle liquefiers cannot be economically scaled to small sizes. A number of design options for hydrogen liquefiers are analyzed, including thermodynamic cycles; magnetic materials; heat exchangers; process of magnetization/demagnetization; magnet configurations; source/sink connections; and regenerative, recuperative, and activemore » magnetic regenerative concepts. 42 refs., 19 figs., 10 tabs. « lessKeywords
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