Materials, Devices and Systems for Compression-Based Elastocaloric Cooling

I will discuss our latest work on development of elastocaloric cooling materials and devices. Key features of one system design include tube-bundle-based heat exchangers and a work-recovery system which is necessary for high-efficiency operation of the systems. We have recently succeeded in developing a multi-mode elastocaloric system which can be switched between operation in the enhanced capacity mode with maximum delivered cooling power of 260 W or a regenerator mode with over 22.5 K in temperature lift. We are also developing a multi-stage cascade system which can generate a much larger temperature lifts. Development of new materials remains a key task for the field, and I will discuss our recent results in tuning the transformation temperature of NiTi, as well as development of high-performance Cu-based alloys which require much less stress than NiTi. I will also discuss the emerging trend in the development path of the elastocaloric technology in general compared to other caloric technologies. This work is carried out in collaboration with Suxin Qian, David Catalini, Kenjiro Fujimoto, Yunho Hwang, Jun Cui, Huilong Hou, and Reinhard Radermacher. Our work has been funded by the Building Technologies Office, EERE, U.S. Department of Energy.