Using a Linux Cluster for Parallel Simulations of an Active Magnetic Regenerator Refrigerator

This paper describes the implementation of a Comsol Multiphysics model on a Linux computer Cluster. The Magnetic Refrigerator (MR) is a special type of refrigerator with potential to reduce the energy consumption of household refrigeration by a factor of two or more. To conduct numerical analysis of an experimental MR, a mathematical model was developed.

The model solves the coupled Navier-Stokes and heat transfer equations which describe the physical phenomenon occurring within the MR. The MR performs a cyclic process, and the model must be time-dependent to determine the steady-state conditions. The coupled set of equations and the transient convergence towards the final steady state means that the model has an excessive solution time.

To make parametric studies practical, the developed model was implemented on a Cluster to allow parallel simulations, which has decreased the solution time significantly.