CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CuMnNiSn ALLOY FOR ENERGY REUSE FROM THERMAL WASTE

• Grant number: 24/13897-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: September 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Physical Metallurgy
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Alexandre Galdino da Silva
• Grantee: Matheus Bellot de Alvarenga
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The generation of clean energy or reuse of thermal energy from different sources, such as: industrial furnace chimneys, car exhausts, aircraft turbines, could be a solution to the near future of oil-based energy sources. Considering this, the development of thermomagnetic devices that use materials with Curie temperature next to room temperature can be a useful approach to use low-quality thermal waste. This study aims to synthesize, characterize, and analyze the feasibility of using the CuMnNiSn alloy for the development of thermomagnetic motors. Thus, the alloy composition will be estimated by X-ray fluorescence and the phase composition will be studied by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The thermal behavior of the material will be evaluated by differential thermal analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Considering the desired application, the magnetic behavior will be characterized by the obtention of magnetization curves as function of temperature and magnetic field. The chemical stability of the material in the cold source fluid will be characterized by potentiodynamic linear polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results of magnetic and thermal characterization will be utilized in the thermodynamic cycle and efficiency calculations of the thermal machine. The systematic analysis of the CuMnNiSn compound using different experimental techniques can provide relevant results from both academic and technological approaches, regarding the production of magnetic materials with the ability to act in thermal energy reuse systems.