Field-active heat pumping using liquid materials

Abstract

Heat pump cycle provided with a fluidic loop connecting two heat exchangers. The fluidic loop is filled with an electro-caloric liquid as a heat transfer medium. Applying electric filed in one of the heat exchangers the temperature of the electro-caloric liquid is changed.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to the field of electrocaloric materials and, more particularly, to a heat pump system that uses liquid-phase electrocaloric materials.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Typical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning functionality (“HVAC”) is provided by vapor compression, or reverse Rankine, cycles. These devices use two-phase fluorinated refrigerants which are under high pressure and exhibit significant global warming potential when they inevitably leak into the atmosphere. Also, the compression process cannot be efficiently scaled to small sizes restricting energy savings achievable through distributed heat pumping. Finally, such compressors tend to be noisy. A scalable, quiet, and environmentally friendly alternative is desired.[0003]Materials that exhibit adiabatic temperature change when subject to mechanical strain, magnetic fields, or electrical fields have been used to create heat pump cycle...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes a heat pump cycle that uses a field-active liquid to transfer heat between two heat exchangers. The liquid is heated or cooled by an electric field applied to one of the heat exchangers, and the resulting change in entropy of the liquid is used to transfer heat to the hot or cool environment. This allows for efficient heat transfer without the need for additional equipment or pumps. The technical effect of the invention is to provide a simple and effective means for heat transfer.

Problems solved by technology

These devices use two-phase fluorinated refrigerants which are under high pressure and exhibit significant global warming potential when they inevitably leak into the atmosphere.

Also, the compression process cannot be efficiently scaled to small sizes restricting energy savings achievable through distributed heat pumping.

Finally, such compressors tend to be noisy.

Also, in a thermoacoustic or other pressure-based regenerative cooling cycle, it is necessary to use a heat exchanger to separate the pressurized working fluid from the ambient air resulting in a significant loss in performance.

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