Executive Summary : | The current generation of refrigeration processes use toxic or explosive gases, which are harmful to human health. To address this issue, alternative techniques like magnetic refrigeration are being explored, focusing on environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and multifunctional materials. Heusler alloys, such as Ni-Co-Mn-In, exhibit reversible martensitic transitions and can be used for cooling surrounding materials and as heat-sinks. The inverse magnetocaloric effect also opens up the possibility of increasing room-temperature refrigeration efficiency by using materials in composite with conventional magnetocaloric effect materials. Preliminary results show high inverse magnetocaloric effect around room temperature (337 K), but the required magnetic field is high (1.5 Tesla). The proposed proposal focuses on optimizing Ni-Co-Mn-In Heusler alloy composition through Co doping and heat treatment procedures. The objective is to increase magnetic refrigeration capacity at 1 Tesla magnetic field at room temperature. A permanent magnet should be sufficient for desired refrigeration. The expected patent could be the first on low-cost, eco-friendly Heusler alloy-based magnetic refrigeration material and development process. The study will provide in-depth understanding of the effect of composition, heat treatment, and disorder on various parameters of magnetocaloric property of Ni-Co-Mn-In alloys. A new composition will be obtained based on Ni-Co-Mn-In alloy suitable for magnetic refrigeration application at room temperature and 1 Tesla magnetic field. The alloy preparation process for developing targeted material for magnetic refrigeration will be established, and patent applications for both composition and material preparation will be filed. |