Abstract
Batteries are commonly used as the power source of present underwater sensors of ocean buoys. However, batteries need to be frequently replaced, which is costly. To implement the real-time power supply for a buoy’s underwater sensor, a new inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT) system that consists of two couplers and a closed cable is proposed in this paper. The special closed cable, which is the both mooring cable and transmission media, is designed to diminish the influence of changes on impedance. A model of the particular ICPT system is established. Optimization of system parameters are carried out based on the model and verified by means of the simulations. Resonant compensation is used to improve the power transfer performance. Finally, many experiments are implemented to compare with the original prototype. It is confirmed that this system can help solve the difficulty of the energy limit to a buoy’s underwater sensor.
Highlights
Nowadays, ocean monitoring has attracted an increasing amount of attention, as it enables the prediction of global climate changes
The battery which is used as the power source of the underwater sensors of existing buoys needs to be replaced frequently when it runs low on power, which is costly
The primary coil is wound around the underwater wire, which is connected to the buoy, and the secondary coil, which is wound around a short segment of underwater wire, is parallel to the primary coil
Summary
Ocean monitoring has attracted an increasing amount of attention, as it enables the prediction of global climate changes. An electric cable can be used to transfer electric power from buoys to underwater sensors. Many recent studies of underwater ICPT systems have focused on the power supply for autonomous underwater vehicles [10,11,12,13,14,15] This kind of ICPT system requires extra power source stations on the seafloor that are connected to electric substations via submarine cable. Members of our team have published several papers on the circuit design of the ICPT system for ocean buoys, but the model and optimization of power transfer were not elaborated [18,19]. An ICPT system applied to transfer electric power to an underwater sensor of an ocean buoy in real time is detailed in this paper. This paper might be seen as a reference to other similar ICPT system so as to speed up the design process
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
