METHOD FOR CLASSIFYING ARTICLES AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING A MAGNETOCALORICALLY ACTIVE WORKING COMPONENT FOR MAGNETIC HEAT EXCHANGE

摘要

A method for classifying articles comprising magnetocalorically active material according to magnetic transition temperature comprises providing a source of articles to be classified, the source comprising articles comprising magnetocalorically active materials having differing magnetic transition temperatures, sequentially applying a magnetic field at differing temperatures to the source, the magnetic field being sufficient to exert a magnetic force on the source that is greater than the inertia of a fraction of the articles causing the fraction of the articles to move and produce an article fraction, and collecting the article fraction at each temperature to provide a plurality of separate article fractions of differing magnetic transition temperature, thus classifying the articles comprising magnetocalorically active material according to magnetic transition temperature.