In the current work, a novel 2D numerical model of stationary grids was developed for reciprocating magnetic refrigerators, with Gd plates, in which the magneto-caloric properties, derived from the Weiss molecular field theory, were adopted for the built-in energy source of the magneto-caloric effect. The numerical simulation was conducted under the conditions of different structural and operational parameters, and the effects of the relative fluid displacement (φ) on the specific refrigeration capacity (qref) and the Coefficient of Performance (COP) were obtained. Besides the variations of entropy, the generation rate and number were studied and the contours of the local entropy generation rate are presented for discussion. From the current work, it is found that with an increase in φ, both the qref and COP followed the convex variation trend, while the entropy generation number (Ns) varied concavely. As for the current cases, the maximal qref and COP were equal to 151.2 kW/m3 and 9.11, respectively, while the lowest Ns was the value of 2.4 × 10-4 K-1. However, the optimal φ for the largest qref and COP, and for the lowest Ns, were inconsistent, thus, some compromises need be made in the optimization of magnetic refrigerators.
Keywords: 2D numerical simulation; Gd plate; entropy generation; reciprocating magnetic refrigerator; refrigeration performance.