Modelling and comparison studies of packed screen regenerators for active magnetocaloric refrigeration

In active magnetic regeneration (AMR) systems, not only the magnetocaloric properties of materials, but also the regenerator geometry plays an important role in the system performance. Packed sphere regenerators are often employed in existing prototypes, however, the characteristics such as relatively large pressure drop and almost fixed porosity make loss reductions and further optimization challenging. This paper proposes and focuses on packed screen regenerators, which may exhibit lower pressure drop and equivalent heat transfer performance to packed sphere regenerators. A 1D AMR model is improved and applied to simulate the regenerators. The performance of the new regenerators is studied and compared with that of the packed sphere regenerators. Possible fabrication methods of the packed screen regenerators are also discussed.