Toward the First Italian Elastocaloric Device: Projecting and Developing Steps

Abstract

Nowadays about 20% of the worldwide energy consumption is attributable to refrigeration that is almost entirely based on vapor compression refrigeration. The elastocaloric refrigeration is being considered in the recent years as one of the most promising alternatives to vapour compression cooling technology. It is based on the latent heat associated with the transformation process of the martensitic phase, found in Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) when they are subjected to uniaxial stress cycles of loading and unloading. SMAs are characterized by the mechanical property of being able to return to the initial form once the uniaxial stress has been removed. Currently the prototypes of elastocaloric cooler developed in the world are less than ten units and they are not close to the industrialization and commercialization, yet. This contribution presents the design processes and the steps of development of the first Italian elastocaloric device: SSUSTAIN-EL. This research involves part of a bigger Italian project, called SUSSTAINEBLE, that involves three research institutes: University of Naples Federico II, University of Genoa and the National Research Council. The aim of research group is the developing of a demonstrative prototype of a continuously elastocaloric cooler, which can represent a fundamental step as "proof of concept".