Maryland Energy and Sensor Technologies
OUr Technology
Thermoelastic cooling is a novel solid-state cooling technology. It is based on the latent heat associated with the reversible martensitic phase transformation. The latent heat in martensites has been studied and utilized for several decades. But most of the applications have been in actuation or heat engine. Little attention has been paid to the potential of using the thermoelastic effect for cooling or refrigeration. At MEST, our goal is to explore, develop, and extend the applications of the thermoelastic cooling technology for commercial use across various industries, through patent filing and product development.
Key Facts About Thermoelastic Cooling
- Highly efficient: Experiment shows that the refrigerant COP (coefficient of performance) is as high as 11.8, which is double that of most widely used VC systems.
- Environmentally friendly: It completely eliminates the use of materials with ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP).
- Cost effective: It does not contain any expensive noble-metal or rare-earth elements, and its manufacturability is high.
Key Publication:
Jun Cui, Yiming Wu, Jan Muehlbauer, Yunho Hwang, Reinhard Radermacher, Manfred Wuttig, Ichiro Takeuchi, Demonstration of high efficiency elastocaloric cooling with large DT using NiTi wires., Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 073904 (2012).
News:
In March 2014, The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) rated the thermoelastic cooling as the most promising technology for Energy Savings Potential and RD&D Opportunities for Non-Vapor-Compression HVAC Technology.
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