Abstract
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been widely used in military and civilian applications. However, the insufficient cruising range restricts the development of UAVs due to the limitation of their battery. Inductive power transfer (IPT) is an effective way to charge the battery and solve this problem. Magnetic coupler is a key component of the IPT system, which greatly affects the power transfer and efficiency of the IPT. This paper proposes a new magnetic coupler with vertical spiral coils and ferrite PQI cores for the IPT system of UAVs, which can enhance the magnetic coupling and improve the performance of the IPT system. Finite element simulations are used to investigate the magnetic field distribution and coupling capability of the proposed magnetic coupler. In addition, an experimental platform is built to prove the validity of the IPT system using the proposed magnetic coupler. The results show that the coupling coefficient can reach 0.98, and the system transfer efficiency is 89.27% with an output power of 93 W. The IPT system also has a perfect misalignment tolerance and can achieve a stable output power.
Highlights
The propulsion systems of the Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be divided into three types, including traditional internal combustion engines (ICEs), hybrid electric propulsion systems (HEPSs), and pure electric motors (EMs)
A high-frequency sinusoidal voltage is generated by the full-bridge inverter, and the high-frequency alternating magnetic field generated by the transmitting coil (TX coil) can transfer the power to the receiving coil (RX coil)
A high-frequency sinusoidal voltage is generated by the full-bridge inverter, and the high-frequency alternating magnetic field generated by the transmitting coil (TX3coil) of 15 can transfer the power to the receiving coil (RX coil)
Summary
In past decades, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with different capabilities have been widely used in many applications, such as water sampling [1], oil and gas surveys [2], powerline inspection [3], coastline patrol, disaster relief [4,5,6], agriculture [7], and logistics [8,9,10]. HEPS is the combination of the ICE and EM, which has high propulsion efficiency and can reduce fuel consumption This kind of propulsion system allows large aircraft and increases cruising ranges. The transmitting coils are made of three series of coils that are wound in the same direction This magnetic coupler can reduce the leakage inductance, converge the magnetic flux lines, and improve the magnetic coupling performance. An optimized magnetic coupler with ferrite PQI cores is obtained This magnetic coupler can provide a strong magnetic flux density, achieve a high coupling coefficient, and maintain a stable power transfer. An experimental platform is implemented to investigate the coupling capability of the magnetic coupler and the IPT system power transfer, which verifies the validity of the proposed IPT system for UAVs. This paper is arranged as follows.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
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