Solid-State Heating Using the Multicaloric Effect in Multiferroics

Abstract

The multicaloric effect is defined as the adiabatic reversible temperature change in multiferroic materials induced by the application of an external electric or magnetic field, and it was first theoretically proposed in 2012. The multicaloric effects in multiferroics, as well as other similar caloric effects in single ferroics, such as magnetocaloric, elastocaloric, barocaloric, and electrocaloric, have been the focus of much research due to their potential commercialization in solid-state refrigeration. In this short communication article, we examine the thermodynamics of the multicaloric effect for solid-state heating applications. A possible thermodynamic multicaloric heating cycle is proposed and then implemented to estimate the solid-state heating effect for a known electrocaloric system. This work offers a path to implementing caloric and multicaloric effects to efficient heating systems, and we offer a theoretical estimate of the upper limit of the temperature change achievable in a multicaloric cooling or heating effect.

The Application of Barocaloric Solid-State Cooling in the Cold Food Chain for Carbon Footprint Reduction

“…In this context, research increasingly considers alternatives to traditional vapor compression systems: On the one end of the spectrum, there are renewable-energy-based technologies such as solar [19][20][21][22] or geothermal [23][24][25][26] technologies, while on the other, there are solid-state technologies based on the caloric effect [27][28][29][30]. These alternatives do not use refrigerant gases, thus ensuring a negligible contribution to the greenhouse effect [31].…”