A novel approach for reliable communications within inductive power transfer systems

An inductive power transfer (IPT) system usually consists of four parts: an AC-DC power factor correction (PFC) converter, a high frequency DC-AC inverter, a compensation network comprising a loosely coupled transformer (LCT) and the resonant capacitors, and a rectification output circuit. Due to the relative large air gap, the magnetic coupling coefficient of the IPT system is poor, different from the closely-coupled IPT systems. As a result, the efficiency of the IPT system is always a main concern for different applications. To ensure high power transfer efficiency, these IPT systems should have high tolerance for different gap variation and horizontal misalignment conditions. In this paper, some design considerations to reduce gap and misalignment effects for the IPT system is proposed. By using finite element analysis (FEA) simulation method, the performance of different transmitter and receiver coil dimensions are compared. In order to validate the performance of the proposed design considerations, a hardware prototype is built and the corresponding experiments are carried out. The experimental results shows that the LCT prototype could maintain coupling coefficient between 0.237∼0.212 within 40 mm horizontal misalignment.

This paper presents the hardware design of a novel and reliable data link for charging electric vehicles by an inductive power transfer (IPT) system. The simultaneous transmission uses the contactless near field of one common pair of coils. The data link can amongst others exchange the status information between the vehicle and the charging station. Due to its structure, most existing systems can be upgraded by this highly integrated data link without significant changes. One key component for the data link is the frequency separating filter (FSF). Its structure and design as part of the communication system as well as the interaction with the IPT system will be presented.

Although the demand for high-power inductive power transfer (IPT) systems is on the rise, implementation of such IPT systems using low-cost semiconductor devices has been a challenge. This study presents a new IPT topology that facilitates easy integration of multiple IPT modules, which are made of low cost and freely available semiconductor components, to cater for high-power applications. An intermediate circuit, comprising an inductor-capacitor-inductor resonant network, serves as a contactless interface through which the modules of primary and secondary (pick-up) systems can be either series or parallel integrated. Inductor coils of the intermediate circuit and both primary and pick-up systems are magnetically coupled to allow for contactless power transfer. The proposed topology is parallel compensated to minimise its var requirement, and both the direction and amount of power flow are controlled by phase and/or magnitude modulation of voltages generated by primary and pick-up side converters. Theoretical analysis, together with simulations and experimental evidence of integrating four prototype bi-directional IPT systems to cater for 1.8 kW demand, is presented to show that the proposed new IPT topology is suitable for high-power applications, and flexible for both bi-directional and uni-directional contactless power transfer.

This article studies magnetic forces between transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) coils in an inductive power transfer (IPT) system aiming to use those forces to align the coils and, consequently, improve power transfer. Due to its popularity, the analysis is conducted on a series–series compensated IPT system with planar spiral coils. The proposed method utilizes the bifurcation operation mode of the system and unloaded resonating receiver to maximize attractive force between magnetic couplers. Three-dimensional finite-element method simulations indicate that high-power IPT systems can develop enough attractive force to align coils even under nominal current. Regardless of the coil shape, e.g., spiral or Double-D (DD), the attractive forces tend to align the coils. Hence, a smart charging station can be devised based on self-aligning capability. Furthermore, this article proposes a mechanical structure to facilitate the attractive lateral force for the alignment of high power applications, i.e., wireless fast-charging stations. The forces are analyzed, modeled, and simulated for a 100-kW IPT system with an operating frequency of 20 kHz, while the self-aligning capability is experimentally verified on a downscale 11-kW prototype.

A dynamic inductive power transfer (IPT) system is a safe and convenient solution to address the issues related to the limited battery capacity and travel distance of electric vehicles (EVs). In recent years, practical aspects of dynamic IPT systems have been investigated to advance various IPT technologies from laboratories to roadways. This paper suggests a configuration to mitigate some of the installation and maintenance concerns of IPT roadways by proposing a switchable inductively coupled connector. Besides providing galvanic isolation, the inductively coupled connector helps maintain a constant and load-independent current in the primary coupler. Moreover, each primary coupler is connected to a common H-bridge through a single DC switch minimizing the number of components required to energize each coupler independently. A mathematical analysis and simulation results have been provided to validate a scaled 3.3kW prototype IPT system employing the proposed configuration.

Contactless power transfer is expected to be applied to many applications since it is convenience and safety. Inductive power transfer (IPT) is a kind of contactless power transfer schemes uses two coils. These coils are inductively coupled and power is transferred from primary coil to secondary coil when high frequency (a few tens of kHz) AC power supplies to primary coil. In many applications using IPT, received AC power is converted to DC power and then the power is charged to battery. Thus, two functions which are rectification and regulating voltage or current are required on the receiver (secondary) side. In this study, one of two types (buck type and boost type) of DC-DC converter connected to diode rectifier were applied to IPT system, and characteristics of each type were compared by experiments. As a result of the experiments, it was found that both rectifiers have two functions which are rectification and regulating voltage or current. It was also found that boost type is better in terms of regulation capability and of efficiency of resonant circuit.

Inductive power transfer (IPT) and capacitive power transfer (CPT) are two basic near-filed approaches for efficient wireless power transfer. Although they share similar system configurations, it is the coupler that determines power transfer characteristics and coupling efficiency. Given the same coupling space (i.e., coupler size constrains), this paper would study and compare the coupler characteristics for the inductive and capacitive coupler. The uniform induced voltage source is applied for both couplers, and the influence of the coupler size parameters and resonance frequencies are evaluated and used to optimize the coupler model parameters. The peak efficiency of the different couplers and their corresponding series-series compensated systems are used to judge the coupler performance. Finally, the design constrain is proposed to show the performance boundary of inductive and capacitive coupler.

An inductive power transfer (IPT) system usually consists of four parts: an ac–dc power factor correction (PFC) converter, a high-frequency dc–ac inverter, a compensation network comprising a loosely coupled transformer (LCT) and the resonant capacitors, and a rectification output circuit. Due to the relatively large air gap, the magnetic coupling coefficient of the IPT system is significantly lower than that with tightly coupled transformer. As a result, the efficiency of the IPT system is always a main concern for applications with possible gap variation or misalignment condition. To ensure high power transfer efficiency, these IPT systems should have high tolerance for different gap variation and horizontal misalignment conditions. In this paper, the effect of coupling coefficient deviation to compensation network efficiency is analyzed, and design considerations to reduce gap and misalignment effects for the IPT system are proposed. By using finite-element analysis simulation method, the performance of different transmitter and receiver coil dimensions is compared. In order to validate the performance of the proposed design considerations, a 100-W hardware prototype with two sets of LCT is built and the corresponding experiments are carried out. As compared to the symmetrical LCT architecture, the proposed asymmetrical LCT prototype improves the coupling coefficient reduction from 68% to 28% when the gap varies from 6 to 20 mm and from 89% to 31% when the misalignment ranges from 0 to 50 mm. Therefore, the efficiency deviation for the asymmetrical LCT is maintained within 3.5% over the entire tested gap variation and misalignment ranges.

Stable power transmission is one of the key factors in the inductive power transfer (IPT) system. However, misalignment between the primary and secondary sides is almost inevitable in practice, affecting the system performance due to the coupling variation. With the widespread use of IPT technology, it is desired to transfer power from the primary side to the secondary side with a wide misalignment range as large as possible. To address this issue, the design method of the detuned circuit is widely applied in the IPT system. This paper analyzes the characteristics of the transfer power of the detuned series–series (S-S) topology with frequency variations and proposes a maintaining stable power transfer method versus wide coupling variation by adopting two discrete frequencies. Further, a design step is given to obtain the system parameters. Theoretical and experimental results are provided to demonstrate the misalignment performance of the proposed method. The results show that the coupling range is extended from [0.115-0.2] to [0.115-0.27] with the 5.6% fluctuation of the output power, and the corresponding efficiency varies from 91.46% to 95.52%.

Inductive power transfer (IPT) systems with multiple transmitting coils are mainly used in specific scenarios, such as IPT sharing platforms and dynamic wireless charging of electric vehicles, etc. However, it faces problems of electromagnetic field leakage and low efficiency. A new magnetic field containment method based on reflective properties is proposed to solve the above shortcomings. Firstly, the reflective properties and performance figures of the IPT system with a unified passive compensation network are described and derived. Then, an S−LCL topology appropriate for the time−varying coupling IPT system is presented, where the IPT system’s transmitter consists of multiple coils that are compatible with one or more moving receivers and is powered by an inverter. Then, magnetic field focusing, power transfer and overall efficiency are analyzed and simulated. Finally, an experimental prototype is built to validate the feasibility of the proposed system. The experimental results show that the proposed method can increase the power transfer of the coupled transmitting coil and reduce the magnetic field leakage of the standby transmitting coils without complex shielding measures, switch, position detection and communication circuits.

Inductive power transfer (IPT) systems are transforming railway infrastructure by enabling efficient, wireless energy transmission for electric locomotives equipped with Li-ion batteries. This technology eliminates the need for overhead power lines and third rails, offering financial and operational advantages over conventional electric propulsion systems. Despite its potential, IPT deployment in rail applications faces significant challenges, including the fragility of materials (i.e., ferrite and Litz wires), thermal management during high-power transfers, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) on the transmitter side. This study discusses several factors affecting IPT efficiency and introduces magnetic concrete as a durable and cost-effective material solution for IPT systems. Magnetic concrete combines soft ferrite powder with water and coarse aggregates to enhance magnetic functionality while maintaining structural strength comparable to conventional concrete. Its durability and optimized magnetic properties promote consistent power transfer efficiency, making it a viable alternative to traditional ferrite cores. A comparative study has been performed on non-magnetic and magnetic concrete (with 33% ferrite powder) using both permeability tests and finite element analysis (FEA). The FEA includes both thermal and electromagnetic simulations using Ansys Maxwell (v.16), revealing that magnetic concrete can improve temperature management and EMI mitigation, and the findings underscore its potential to revolutionize IPT technology by overcoming the limitations of traditional materials and enhancing durability, cost-efficiency, and power transfer efficiency. By addressing the challenges of fragility, thermal management, and shielding of the unique coil topology design presented, this study lays the groundwork for improving IPT infrastructure in sustainable and efficient rail transport systems.

In this paper, a new Modular differential-mode Class-D Power Amplifier (PA) is analyzed and designed for Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) systems that are compatible with the A4WP standard. Multiple receivers IPT systems need more power, especially with integrating more receivers, and an ultra-wide range of power processing. The modular structure of the proposed PA offers flexibility, higher reliability, and inherent power scalability. The transmitted power range can be optimized and scaled to any power level making the PA design effectively suitable for multiple receivers’ IPT systems. Also, independent control for Class-D PA is proposed to increase efficiency and enhance overall performance. The proposed control has a feature of disabling needless legs in low power range which happened at activating a low number of utilized receivers. GaN power transistors are used in the proposed modular PA to enhance the performance at high frequency and provide high efficiency while achieving zero voltage switching (ZVS) operation. Detailed mathematical analysis along with simulation results are provided to validate the performance features of the proposed modular PA.

This paper presents a method for finding the optimum load resistance that maximizes the power efficiency of a tuned-resonant inductive power transfer (IPT) system. In this method, the equivalent AC circuit of the IPT system is transformed to match the topology of a reference ladder prototype. This simplifies the design problem, because the ladder prototype offers intuitive and accurate closed-form approximations for the optimum load resistance and maximum power efficiency. The process is graphical in the sense that manipulations and transformations are made directly on the circuit diagram. Compared to traditional circuit analysis, the ladder prototype approach does not entail complicated systems of equations or matrix manipulations. We show the utility of our method by designing a practical IPT system.

In present days, wireless power transfer systems are more popular for its application like wireless charging devices such as cell phones, laptops, electric vehicles, underwater vehicles and medical devices. In an inductively coupled battery charging system, for better power transfer capability, a high efficiency and attaining required power level, compensation is required. This paper focused on designing and analysis of series-series (S-S) compensation topologies to minimize impedance and increase efficiency of Inductive wireless power transfer (IWPT) of electric vehicle (EV) battery charging systems. First, the designing formulas are derived for S-S compensated Inductive power transfer (IPT) system from that bifurcation issue, gain, dual side control and maximum efficiency conditions are achieved. Based on formulas, equivalent electrical circuits parameters are calculated for designing a 1.5 kW output power and the resonance frequency 85 kHz. The results convey that the maximum efficiency and zero power angle (ZPA) are achieved. A simulation system is made in the MATLAB/SIMULINK, from which performance of the system results are verified.

To improve misalignment tolerance for an inductive power transfer (IPT) system, a third-coil is employed to reversely connect with the primary coil of the loosely coupled transformer (LCT) in series. The LCT with a third-coil (LCT-TC) not only can improve the misalignment performance in x - and y -directions, but also does not affect the inherent output characteristics (such as constant current or voltage output) of original compensation topologies. In addition, the proposed approach can keep the IPT system operating with relatively high efficiency against misalignment. Then, a detailed design method of LCT-TC is presented. Finally, a double-side LCC-compensated IPT system is chosen as an example to verify the feasibility of proposed LCT-TC. A 3.4-kW prototype is constructed, and experimental results show that the proposed method has a good misalignment performance. The LCC-LCC IPT system with LCT-TC can retain 96% of the well-aligned power at 40% misalignment, and the end-to-end (dc–dc) overall system efficiency is at least 92%. Besides, the fluctuation of the output current is [–2%, 5%] while the load varies from 15 to 34 Ω within 40% misalignment.