Local entropy generation analysis of a rotary magnetic heat pump regenerator

The rotary magnetic heat pump has attractive thermodynamic performance but it is strongly influenced by the effectiveness of the regenerator. This study uses local entropy generation analysis to evaluate the regenerator design and to suggest design improvements. The results show that performance of the proposed design is dominated by heat transfer related entropy generation. This suggests that enhancement concepts that improve heat transfer should be considered, even if the enhancement causes a significant increase in viscous losses (pressure drop). One enhancement technique, the use of flow disrupters, was evaluated and the results showed that flow disrupters can significantly reduce thermodynamic losses.