Implementation of La(Fe, Co)13−xSix materials in magnetic refrigerators: Practical aspects

In this paper, we report some practical aspects concerning the application of La(Fe, Co)13−xSix based materials in the magnetic cooling technology. For this purpose, two blocks of La(Fe, Co)13−xSix with different Curie temperature were considered for this study. Before implementing the new refrigerants in the magnetic cooling machine, we have measured directly their magnetocaloric properties in practical conditions around room temperature. The obtained magnetocaloric effect values were corrected taking into account the demagnetization effect. The influence of the demagnetization field on the magnetocaloric performances of La(Fe, Co)13−xSix is analyzed and discussed. A composite material based on La(Fe, Co)13−xSix compounds was tested directly in our recently developed magnetic cooling system and a comparison with the gadolinium was made. Encouraging results were obtained showing the high potential of the studied materials in magnetic cooling application. In addition, the poor corrosion resistance of the intermetallics can compromise the potential of these materials. In this paper, we also present the corrosion tests performed on different samples of La(Fe, Co)13−xSix using several heat transfer fluids.