耦合高压斯特林制冷效应的复合磁制冷循环的数值模拟

本文借助计算流体力学软件, 对复合磁制冷机进行整机数值模拟分析. 以复合磁制冷机为建模原形, 分别计算了主动式磁制冷循环以及复合磁制冷循环. 利用模型计算分析了利用系数, 工作频率对主动式磁制冷的制冷效果影响, 同时模拟计算了不同相位角、不同频率下的复合磁制冷机的制冷效果, 计算得到适合复合磁制冷循环的最佳匹配相位角. 模拟计算结果对后续实验台的设计搭建有很好的指导作用.

Numerical simulation of a hybrid magnetic refrigeration combined with high pressure Stirling regenerative refrigeration effect

Magnetic refrigeration is a cooling method based on the magnetocaloric effect, which uses solid magnetocaloric materials as refrigerant, and helium, water or other fluid as heat transfer fluids. Stirling refrigeration is a kind of mature gas regenerative cooling method, using helium gas as the refrigerant. These refrigerations have similar cycling characteristics, and are both safe, environmantal-friendly and high efficient cooling methods. Therefore, a hybrid magnetic refrigerator combined with Stirling gas refrigeration effect is proposed and designed. In our previous works for hybrid magnetic refrigeration, numerical simulation and experimental performance of the low-pressure hybrid magnetic refrigerator was carried out, and the cycling mechanism of hybrid magnetic refrigeration was also figured out. In this study, a numerical model for the high-pressure hybrid magnetic refrigeration cycle is established. The magnetic refrigeration materials are utilized as the regenerator matrix for both gas Stirling and active magnetic regenerative refrigeration in this model. Effects of gas Stirling and active magnetic regenerative refrigeration are combined to build a kind of high efficient refrigeration cycle. Ansys Fluent software is applied in this paper. Based on the physical model of hybrid refrigerator and the theories of magnetocaloric effect and numerical calculation of regenerator, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of high-pressure hybrid magnetic refrigerator is established. This paper describes the internal heat transfer mechanism of Stirling and magnetic refrigeration effect in an active regenerator. Some parameters of the model such as working frequency and utilization are analyzed and the best phase angle is figured out in order to couple these two cooling effects positively. Simulation results show that Stirling and magnetic cooling effects can be coupled positively at phase angle of 60^o. Results also show that with increasing system pressure, which means to increase the utilization of the system, the system frequency can enhance the cooling performance of the system as well as improve the coefficient of performance (COP) of it. The results and analysis of the numerical model will be helpful for the construction of experimental prototype in our future work.