Reclaiming Power Potential from Low Temperature Waste Heat by Thermomagnetic Heat Engines

Yeongmin Kim, Muhammad Uzair Mehmood, Hyun Joo Han, Yu Jin Kim, Seung Jin Oh and Sang-Hoon Lim
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Yeongmin Kim: Department of Nuclear and Energy Engineering, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Korea
Muhammad Uzair Mehmood: Department of Nuclear and Energy Engineering, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Korea
Hyun Joo Han: Department of Architectural Engineering, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Korea
Yu Jin Kim: Department of Nuclear and Energy Engineering, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Korea
Seung Jin Oh: Sustainable Technology and Wellness R&D Group, Jeju Division, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Jeju 63243, Korea
Sang-Hoon Lim: Department of Nuclear and Energy Engineering, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Korea

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: Thermomagnetic heat engines were designed, constructed, and tested, where numbers of gadolinium (Gd) blocks were used to exploit low temperature waste heat. Gadolinium is a rare earth material whose magnetic property changes with temperature, altering between ferromagnetic and paramagnetic. A motion develops in the thermomagnetic heat engine as Gd blocks are exposed to different temperatures causing changes in their magnetic property. A change in the magnetic property of any Gd block is directly related to the resultant torque driving the thermomagnetic heat engine for power production. Among heat engines studied to date, the cylindrical thermomagnetic heat engine was able to develop a maximum mechanical power of 1.1 W at a temperature difference of 45 °C between hot and cold thermal resources. Furthermore, depending on the effectiveness of an electromagnetic generator (EMG) combined with a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), the electric power output can be notably improved.

Keywords: low temperature waste heat; thermomagnetic heat engines; gadolinium; electromagnetic generator; triboelectric nanogenerator (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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