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GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
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PUBLIC SUMMARY
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The tight arrangement of NiTi wires ensures an enhanced cooling effect.
The cam structure achieves the continuous, alternating phase transformation of NiTi bundles.
Using air as the heat exchange medium aligns better with the application requirements for space cooling.
A rational model shows the optimal direction for the device and its significant cooling capacity.
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ABSTRACT
Elastocaloric cooling has shown significant potential as an alternative to traditional vapor-compression technology because it relies on nonflammable, non-toxic, and zero-global warming potential solid refrigerants (usually NiTi and TiNi-based shape memory alloys). However, the uniaxial loading mode commonly used in existing elastocaloric cooling devices is often accompanied by a lower operating frequency. Additionally, using water as the heat exchange medium presents challenges in further cooling the air with cold water. These issues will hinder the application of this type of refrigerators in space cooling scenarios. Here, we report a continuous operating tension-based elastocaloric air-cooling device that utilizes the bundles of NiTi wires. The driving mode based on the cam structure realizes the alternating loading-unloading cycle of multiple NiTi bundles, facilitating continuous the cooling process. Our air-cooling device achieves a temperature decrease of 4.4 ℃ in continuous air flow and provides a cooling power of 21 W. These results demonstrate the possibility of applying elastocaloric technology in space cooling and provide a technical reference for designing household air conditioners using this technology. -
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REFERENCES
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Cite this article:
Hou R., Xiao F., Wu S., et al., (2024). Continuous operating elastocaloric air-cooling device. The Innovation Energy 1(2): 100026. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2024.100026
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Hou R., Xiao F., Wu S., et al., (2024). Continuous operating elastocaloric air-cooling device. The Innovation Energy 1(2): 100026. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2024.100026
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Figure 1.
Structural design schematics and working principle of the air-cooling device
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Figure 2.
Elastocaloric effect of a NiTi bundle installed on the elastocaloric cooling device
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Figure 3.
Measured refrigeration performance of the device
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Figure 4.
Simulated results of the model based on the convective heat transfer
