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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Experimental Methods for Investigation of Shape Memory Based Elastocaloric Cooling Processes and Model Validation
Published on: May 2, 2016
Conifer-shaped multi-layer elastocaloric regenerators
Di Ma1, Guoqu Zhou1, Pengfei Dang2
1Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
Abstract:
Elastocaloric cooling enjoyed fast development, however, its full potential has yet to be released, partially due to the inevitable inhomogeneous phase transition in elastocaloric regenerators. Here, we report a conifer-shaped multi-layer elastocaloric regenerator by aligning geometry with variable transformation stress to address this challenge. Inspired by coniferous tree architecture, the design strategically varies the number of tubes across three layers to match the intrinsic transformation stress profile, mitigating overstress and incomplete transitions. Using identical commercial-grade NiTi material, the regenerator achieves a 45.5 K load-free temperature span that is 12.4% higher than the uniform baseline. Scalability is demonstrated via a reciprocating elastocaloric water chiller incorporating two regenerators, achieving 272.6 W cooling power at zero temperature span. We also demonstrate that the conifer shape applies to intra-layer, establishing a geometry-function matching principle for future high-performance elastocaloric regenerators and systems.
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