Efficient Wireless Power Transfer Research Articles

Time-varying systems to improve the efficiency of wireless power transfer

Time-varying systems to improve the efficiency of wireless power transfer

Development of soft magnetic composites for magnetized pavement to improve the efficiency of electric vehicle's wireless power transfer

Integrating the wireless power transfer (WPT) system into the pavement is an effective way to solve the inconvenience of electric vehicles (EVs)’ charging, accelerating the growth of ownership of EVs to achieve net carbon zero in transportation. However, the existence of a cement paving layer between coils was a negative impact factor. Here, two types of ferrite powders were separately mixed into the cement to prepare soft magnetic composite (SMC) material to enhance the coupling degree of coils. The magnetic and mechanical performance of the composite were tested by a vibrating sample magnetometer and compressive and flexural strength tester. Furthermore, to explore the optimal layout of the magnetized pavement structure, nine pavement layouts were designed based on the distribution of magnetic flux. Finally, the effect of SMC material on improving the charging performance was verified by WPT system test platform. Results showed that the Ni–Zn ferrite powder exhibited superior magnetic permeability due to its stronger magnetic moments and lower magnetic domain wall energy compared to Mn–Zn ferrite powder. The peak relative permeability of SMC materials reached 14.370 with an equal mass ratio of Ni–Zn ferrite powder to cement. Conversely, optimal strength was attained with a Mn–Zn ferrite to cement ratio of 0.2, resulting in a compressive strength of 36.0 MPa and a flexural strength of 4.0 MPa. Strategically placing SMC within the pavement, both in the core's interior and exterior to the coil, enhanced the coupling coefficient of coils, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the WPT system. The incorporation of Ni–Zn ferrite powder in a 1:1 mass ratio to cement materialized the highest efficiency. Nonetheless, considering the mechanical performance, the SMC material with a 0.6 mass ratio of Mn–Zn ferrite powder to cement was recommended for magnetized pavements. The WPT system test results showed a transmission efficiency of 89.78% when utilizing magnetized pavement, surpassing the efficiency with the whole pavement material by 1.36%, which indicated great value and potential in energy conservation and carbon reduction of employing magnetized pavement in WPT technology.

Wireless Power Transfer Efficiency Optimization Tracking Method Based on Full Current Mode Impedance Matching.

Wireless power transfer (WPT) technology is a contactless wireless energy transfer method with wide-ranging applications in fields such as smart homes, the Internet of Things (IoT), and electric vehicles. Achieving optimal efficiency in wireless power transfer systems has been a key research focus. In this paper, we propose a tracking method based on full current mode impedance matching for optimizing wireless power transfer efficiency. This method enables efficiency tracking in WPT systems and seamless switching between continuous conduction mode and discontinuous mode, expanding the detection capabilities of the wireless power transfer system. MATLAB was used to simulate the proposed method and validate its feasibility and effectiveness. Based on the simulation results, the proposed method ensures optimal efficiency tracking in wireless power transfer systems while extending detection capabilities, offering practical value and potential for widespread applications.

ClosedLoop Control of Pulse-Density-Modulated Wireless Power Transfer with Fast MEPT

Efficient wireless power transfer (WPT) requires closedloop control to perform maximum efficiency point tracking (MEPT) against the dynamic changes of operating conditions. In this paper, we took the latest deltasigma pulse-density-modulated (PDM) WPT system as the plant and presented a systematic control design procedure. The WPT system was modeled by the reducedorder dynamic phasor method and further decoupled under the tuned condition. It was identified that the coupled resonators behave like a secondorder system, and its natural frequency is much lower than the resonant frequency. This was considered in the closedloop design to derive a suitable loop gain and ensure stability. The nonlinearity caused by the dualside PDM control is limited to a small inner loop so that the entire loop is linear and simple. Experimental results showed that the closedloop voltage regulation and MEPT took only about 10 ms after load stepping. The system DC output voltage was always tightly regulated, and the steadystate efficiency was very close to the theoretical maximum value under different coupling conditions.

Wireless power transfer efficiency enhancement based on a negative permeability double‐helix metamaterial structure

SummaryIn wireless power transfer (WPT) systems, extended transmission distances significantly impede efficiency, posing a major challenge to their practical application. This paper presents a novel ortho‐octagonal double‐helix metamaterial that can effectively enhance the transmission efficiency of WPT systems. It has theoretically derived and experimentally verified the enhancement of evanescent wave transmission by this metamaterial dielectric plate. A WPT simulation system operating at 10.78 MHz is constructed by HFSS software, and the effects of adding passive relay coils and different shapes of metamaterials on the transmission efficiency are comparatively investigated. Simulated data converge to indicate that integrating variously shaped metamaterials at the transceiver's end distinctly elevates the WPT system's transmission efficiency. When the transceiver coil spacing of the WPT system is greater than 22 cm, the effect of metamaterials on the system transmission efficiency enhancement shows an increasing and then decreasing trend as the distance increases. The positive octagonal metamaterial improves 12% over the circular metamaterial in the mid‐range transmission distance due to its better magnetic coupling effect. When the transceiver coil spacing is 22 cm, the open‐circuit voltage of the receiving coil after loading the metamaterial is stabilized to be enhanced by nearly five times, and it has the best effect at 30 cm, and the transmission efficiency is enhanced from 30% to 60%, which verifies the effective enhancement of the metamaterial on the transmission efficiency of the WPT system.

Microwave wireless power transfer efficiency analysis framework for a thin film space solar power satellite

Space-based solar power systems (SSPS) envision the usage of focused microwave beams to transfer power from space to ground. To supply a large amount of power and to be able to focus a microwave beam efficiently, a large infrastructure must be assembled in orbit, thus, making the implementation of SSPS an arduous task. In the history of SSPS designs, aside from economical obstacles, technical obstacles such as large ohmic losses due to long DC lines in the structure, large rotary joints to decouple beam pointing and solar power collection, heating problems from power lines converging into a single point, and complex control mechanisms, manufacture, and assembly are present. A simpler implementation using multiple foldable thin film membrane satellite modules is proposed as a feasible design, born from the advancement of thin film electronics. Its economical feasibility is achieved through the reduced weight, large surface area, and membrane’s ability to be stowed. The thin film SSPS combines advantageous properties of past designs such as a simple structure, simple control mechanism, and a distributed power collection and transfer architecture avoiding the ohmic loss and heating problems. However, due to the thin film membrane hosting both the antenna and the solar cells, competition occurs between maximum solar power collection and high efficiency power transfer capabilities. In this paper, we propose a framework to analyze the performance of the thin film SSPS solar cell-antenna integration design in terms of the wireless power transfer efficiency and fuel consumption, from which we identified the trade-offs on designing and operating the station. We used this framework to analyze three different antenna element designs in combination with three different attitude control goals, and found out that the key aspects of the antenna design are beam width, radiation efficiency, and efficient solar cell integration.

A Novel Asymmetrical Quadrupolar Coil for Interoperability of Unipolar, Bipolar, and Quadrupolar Coils in Electric Vehicle Wireless Charging Systems

The unipolar, bipolar, and quadrupolar coils used in an electric vehicle wireless charging system are not interoperable with each other. Thus, there would be interoperability issues when the transmitting and receiving coils are not the same. To solve this issue, this letter proposes an asymmetrical quadrupolar coil that can be interoperable with the four conventional coils at the same position for efficient wireless power transfer, namely the unipolar coil, the bipolar coil along two perpendicular directions, and the quadrupolar coil. Large coupling coefficients can be achieved for the proposed coil with the four conventional coils when perfectly aligned. The misalignment performance with the four conventional coils is also investigated. An experimental prototype is developed to compare the conventional symmetrical quadrupolar coil and the proposed asymmetrical quadrupolar coil for validation of interoperability. The proposed asymmetrical quadrupolar coil achieves a maximum coupling coefficient of over 0.10 and a maximum dc-dc efficiency of over 85% with the four conventional coils.

Efficient wireless power transfer for a moving electric vehicle by digital control of frequency

Recently, demand for electric vehicles has been increasing as a countermeasure against global warming, but they currently face many problems compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. For example, charging takes time, and there are few places where electric vehicles can be charged. If AC power supplies that can transfer energy to electric vehicles wirelessly exist under the lanes where electric vehicles drive, the cruising range will be increased. In this study, assuming wireless power transfer to a moving electric vehicle, an experiment was conducted to light up a light-emitting diode (LED) on a moving electric model car. To improve the efficiency of transfer, the optimal frequency for the position of the electric model car was calculated, and the value was fed back to the power supply to adjust the frequency in real time.

Gyrator-Gain Variable WPT Topology for MC-Unconstrained CC Output Customization Using Simplified Capacitance Tuning

Load-independent constant current (CC) outputs are desirable in many applications of wireless power transfer (WPT). Yet the WPT gain of a conventional system is normally dependent on the magnetic components (MCs) such as coils or inductors, making it difficult to customize the output for interoperability. This paper presents a gain variable WPT topology for CC output customization, which only employs capacitance tuning to provide sufficient freedom in gain regulation. To break the gain limitation of <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">S-S</i> compensation, which is the simplest with gyrator characteristics for CC output, a capacitive or inductive component is paralleled to the coil as <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">SP-S</i> or <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">S-PS</i> compensation. A thorough analysis based on the Y-Δ transform indicates that the gain is restrictively variable with the parallel component. An <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">S-CLC</i> -compensated topology without an independent inductor is further proposed to avoid those restrictions with as few additional components as possible. The inductor in the topology, coupled with the transmitter coil and integrated into the receiver coil, extends the gain variable range. A complete design process of the topology is presented to realize efficient WPT and CC output customization with a wide variable-gain range and misalignment tolerance. Analytical and simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the gyrator-gain variation by capacitance tuning. Finally, the performance of the WPT topology is evaluated by experimental results on a scaled-down prototype.

Experimental Results and Analysis of Midrange Underwater Asymmetric Wireless Power Transfer

The eddy current loss caused by the conductivity of seawater results in a relatively low transfer efficiency of underwater wireless power transfer (WPT). And the transfer distance of the current WPT system is relatively short. Considering that most of the wireless power transfer devices in practical applications are asymmetric, few studies have explored the transfer characteristics of asymmetric midrange WPT in seawater. In this study, it is experimentally found that the load voltage and transfer efficiency of an asymmetric midrange WPT system with reduced primary balancing resistance in seawater are nearly twice as high as those of a symmetric one at a 50 cm transfer distance and a 410 kHz operation frequency with a 44.4 Ω load resistance. A new circuit model of the underwater WPT system with complex impedance and complex mutual inductance is then presented, and the load voltages predicted by the model are consistent highly with the experimental values; the model is then utilized for the explanation of the experimental observations. Changing the load resistance also improves the transfer efficiency of the system; however, the eddy current loss results in a relatively low transfer efficiency of 30.9% at an optimal load resistance of 90 Ω. The asymmetric midrange underwater WPT system can be applied in scenarios where the transfer distance is prioritized.

Calculation of mutual inductance between arbitrarily positioned planar spiral coils for wireless power applications

Mutual inductance is one of the main parameters required to determine the power link’s performance (output voltage, efficiency) in wireless power transfer. The coils are often misaligned angularly in these applications, which affects the mutual inductance and thus the performance. Hence, an accurate calculation of mutual inductance is necessary to decide the working region of the coil. This paper presents an analytical calculation of mutual inductance between two planar spiral coils under angular misalignment conditions. By solving the Neumann integral formula, mutual inductance is derived for constant current-carrying coils, and the final mutual inductance value is calculated numerically. The influence of angular misalignment of the coil, which can be due to nutation and spin angles, on mutual inductance is studied in detail. The mutual inductance of the spiral coil is calculated for different misalignment cases. The accuracy of the calculation results is verified by comparing it with conventional formulas (mainly the Liu, the Babic formula, and the Poletkin formula) and by simulation using the finite element method. The proposed method is a more generalized and simpler one that can be used to calculate the mutual inductance of any size of coils, either spiral or circular, with any lateral and angular misalignments. Finally, a couple of spiral coils are fabricated to validate it experimentally. The comparison of the simulation and experiment results with the calculation result shows its accuracy. Thus, the proposed method can be applied to compute mutual inductance in any angularly misaligned coupling coils for the optimization of the wireless power transfer and their design.

High-Efficiency Reconfigurable CMOS RF-to-DC Converter System for Ultra-Low-Power Wireless Sensor Nodes with Efficient MPPT Circuitry

This paper presents a novel CMOS RF-to-DC converter for ultra-low-power wireless sensor nodes powered by RF wireless power transfer. The proposed converter achieves 10% higher power conversion efficiency than a conventional rectifier, with only a 1% increase in power consumption. The system employs a reconfigurable Dickson topology, operates on the unlicensed 868 MHz ISM band, and includes a built-in power-efficient MPPT system architecture. Experimental measurements show a maximum power conversion efficiency of 55% in the power range from −22 dBm to 0 dBm, with a power sensitivity of −22 dBm for a DC output voltage of 2.4 V. The proposed converter offers a promising solution for efficient wireless power transfer and energy harvesting in ultra-low-power wireless sensor nodes.

Optimization of Circular Coils with Ferrite Boxes for Enhanced Efficiency in Wireless Power Transfer for Electric Vehicles

This study responds to global climate concerns by addressing the shift towards sustainable transportation, particularly electric vehicles. Focusing on wireless power transfer to overcome charging infrastructure challenges, the research optimizes circular coils for inductive power transfer in electric cars. Utilizing ferrite cores to enhance performance, the study employs ANSYS Electronics Suite R2-202 and the finite element method to analyze circular coils, exploring variations in turns, inner radius, air gap, and misalignment's impact on the coupling coefficient. Introducing ferrite plan cores and boxes, the research finds that ferrite boxes improve coupling efficiency by 50% and electromagnetic field strength by 300%, concentrating the field toward the center. An inequivalent design, enlarging the primary coil, demonstrates significant enhancements, achieving a coupling coefficient increase of 0.183447 and an electromagnetic field rise of 0.00040 Tesla. Equivalent coils with ferrite boxes meet a 95% efficiency goal with a strong, narrowed field at a lower cost, while inequivalent coils excel in strengthening and centralizing the field, enhancing misalignment tolerance in distinctive ways.

Emergency power supply enabling solar PV integration with battery storage and wireless interface

ABSTRACT This paper presents a detailed investigation of an emergency power supply that enables solar photovoltaic (PV) power integration with a battery energy storage system (BESS) and a wireless interface. Through the utilisation of solar PV-based generation and BESS with wireless/contactless power transmission, the proposed method offers an easy-to-setup and flexible alternative solution for the emergency power supply (EPS) for household appliances and wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging for all weather conditions. During bad weather conditions, the battery acts as the main power supply and can be charged from the solar PV panel and during rainy days, it can be charged from the grid by the proposed wireless interface for emergency use. The proposed system is analysed by mathematical modelling, focusing on the interface of the solar PV, BESS, and load, with inductive power transfer (IPT) as a wireless power transfer (WPT) method. The simulation and a scaled-down experimental prototype are built to demonstrate that the proposed system enables wireless power transfer with PV and BESS, and easy installation can be achieved by just placing the primary charging coil of the proposed power supply close to the wireless charging pad that is available in the existing system for e.g. EV charging. The results show that the load voltage is kept constant at 48 V against the varying input characteristic of the solar panel which is the solar irradiance ranging from 20% to 100% and output characteristics of the load of the proposed integrated system with variation of 20–50%, respectively. Moreover, the wireless power transfer efficiency across the inductive coils is maintained at about 97% under these variations.

Implementation of curcumin concentration coating to improve power efficiency in wireless power transfer

The research object in this research is the copper winding in the WPT system which characteristics will be observed after being coated with a concentration of curcumin. From the experiment of coating the curcumin concentration: H2O on the surface of the copper coil, it shows that there is an influence of physical phenomena from the curcumin concentration material. The strength of the magnetic field (B) and electric current (I) increased after the process of coating the concentration of curcumin: H2O on the copper coil for 0–5 hours. A coil wound with an electric current produces a strong magnetic field (B1), while the curcumin compound (C20H21O6) contains two aromatic benzene rings which produce a strong magnetic field on 6p (B2). Measuring the magnetic field strength using a Gauss meter after the curcumin concentration coating process showed an increase in the magnetic field strength and electric current. Assuming the equation for magnetic field strength B=B1+B2. Increasing the strength of the magnetic field and electric current in the copper winding of the wireless power transfer (WPT) system will affect the power efficiency of the copper windings L1 (transceiver) and L2 (receiver). The process of coating curcumin on a layer of copper to determine the electromechanical effect of curcumin. Utilization of curcumin as an alternative to increase power efficiency in WPT and increase conductivity in copper windings

Combined‐harmonics wireless power transfer system

AbstractA technique for wireless power transfer (WPT) efficiency improvement by a proper design of the excitation waveform is presented. This improvement is obtained on the one hand by a combined‐harmonics excitation, and on the other hand by exploiting multiple‐resonance coupled resonators. In contrast to wireless communications, there is no constraint on the linearity of the transmitter and receiver in a WPT system. Therefore, the impact of the excitation waveform on the power transfer efficiency with the help of an analytical model is investigated. An optimum excitation waveform is determined to maximise the power transfer efficiency. Thereafter, the authors concentrate on designing a multiple‐resonance coupled resonator system that is consistent with the determined excitation waveform. This work introduces a non‐uniform spiral resonator for controlling the self‐resonant frequencies, which is consistent with the required excitation waveform. The performance of the designed coupled resonators is then evaluated using a 3D finite‐element method and experiments. The numerical simulation and experimental results are in good agreement, verifying the validity of our design.

Optimized Design of an Ultrasonic-Based High-Efficiency Wireless Passive Monitoring System for Sealed Metal Compartments.

The condition monitoring (CM) of sealed metal compartments (SMCs) is an urgently required restructure. Ultrasound penetrates SMCs to power and communicate with built-in sensors, enabling the CM of SMCs. However, current ultrasonic wireless power transfer and data communication (UWPTADC) systems are large and complex, and limited by the efficiency of energy transfer and data reliability. In this paper, an optimized design of a high-efficiency wireless passive monitoring system using UWPTADC techniques is proposed for SMC. The circuit model of the system is developed and analyzed to achieve an optimal design for efficient wireless power transfer and effective data communication coupling. A test system was constructed using a steel wall of 11 mm thickness as a validation object. At the ultrasonic carrier frequency of 1.045 MHz, the system has an energy transfer efficiency of 60%, and a communication rate of 50 kbps. In addition, the system realizes temperature and humidity monitoring inside a 13 mm thick cylindrical SMC, simulating the process of ultrasonic CM of an actual engine compartment. The system provides a wiring-free and battery-free solution for CM in SMCs, advancing CM in aerospace, marine and other fields.

Multifunctional coil technique for alignment-agnostic and Rx coil size-insensitive efficiency enhancement for wireless power transfer applications

This paper presents a multifunctional coil technique to enhance the transfer efficiency of an inductively-coupled wireless power transfer (WPT) system, regardless of the alignment condition and size ratio between the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) coils. The technique incorporates an auxiliary coil on the Tx side, where current is induced through coupling from the primary coil. Since the Tx coil consists of two coils, transmission to the Rx occurs through the coil with the higher coupling coefficient, determined by the misalignment state. Additionally, by controlling this current using a varactor placed on the auxiliary coil, an optimal magnetic flux is generated based on the alignment condition and/or the size of the Rx coil. In perfect alignment, the auxiliary coil focuses the flux from the Tx to the Rx coil, maximizing transfer efficiency. In misalignment scenarios, the current on the auxiliary coil is adjusted to shift the effective center of the Tx coil, achieving the strongest alignment of the magnetic flux traversing the Rx coil. This adjustment, which can be controlled adaptively based not only on the degree of misalignment but also on the size of the Rx coil, enables virtually null-free operation across varying misalignment conditions and for different Rx sizes. Furthermore, as this multifunctionality of the proposed system is achieved with a minimal number of additional components-just a single auxiliary coil and a single varactor-the impact on the overall quality factor (Q) of the system is minimized, contributing to the higher efficiency. In a size-symmetric system, where the Tx and Rx coils have the same size, the efficiency reaches 98.1% in perfect alignment and remains above 60% with up to 135% misalignment relative to the largest coil dimension. In a size-asymmetric system, with the Rx coil reduced to a quarter of the Tx coil, the efficiency is 96.1% in perfect alignment and remains above 60% up to 95% misalignment. Despite its enhanced practicality through a simple structure featuring only one auxiliary coil and an asymmetric configuration integrated solely on the Tx side, the proposed technique surpasses previous methods by delivering significantly superior performance. Moreover, it demonstrates unprecedented tolerance to both misalignment and smaller Rx coil sizes, which is frequently encountered in practical applications.

Practical Waveform-to-Energy Harvesting Model and Transmit Waveform Optimization for RF Wireless Power Transfer Systems

The received radio-frequency (RF) power in far-field RF wireless power transfer (WPT)—with or without simultaneous information transfer—is minuscule due to large propagation loss in wireless media. In such scenarios, adapting to the receiver characteristics by transmit waveform optimization is essential for maximizing the harvested direct current (dc) and, thus, the end-to-end efficiency of an RF WPT system. The receiver efficiency in RF WPT is governed by the RF-to-dc efficiency of the rectifier as well as the impedance mismatch at the antenna and load. In this article, we study the receiver efficiency for any fixed load and, subsequently, present a novel rectifier model that relates the average harvested dc power to the distribution, that is, the histogram, of the instantaneous power levels of the RF signal’s envelope over time. The proposed waveform-to-energy harvesting (EH) model enables us to anticipate the average harvested dc power for any waveform, including communication signals as well, given the knowledge of the power-level distribution. Consequently, we conduct rigorous waveform optimization to maximize the average harvested dc power and determine the digital baseband signal at the transmitter that does so, namely prove that a pulsed tone at appropriate frequency is optimal for RF WPT. We present a multiband test-bed for determining the receiver efficiency for any digital baseband waveform. The efficacy of the proposed model is corroborated through experiments as well as simulations, which confirm that it is operational as well as accurate in practice and that single-sine pulses yield higher efficiency than basic multisine waveforms, while a pulsed phase shift keying (PSK) is preferable for simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT).

Arbitrary Wireless Energy Distribution within an Epsilon Near‐zero Environment

AbstractEfficient power distribution to multiple receivers with controlled amounts is critical for wireless communication and sensing systems. Previous efforts have attempted to improve power transfer efficiency through strong coupling and parity‐time (PT) symmetry, providing attractive opportunities for flexible energy flow control. In this study, a novel method for achieving arbitrary power distribution is proposed and numerically demonstrated by leveraging the unique properties inside an epsilon near‐zero (ENZ) environment. Specifically, it shows that the power from a single source can be transferred to multiple receivers inside an ENZ medium with negligible loss by modifying optical properties of receivers rather than introducing sophisticated active control modules. Importantly, full power transfer is independent of the size and shape of the ENZ medium, as well as the positions of the receivers and source. A realizable system is further designed with effective zero index at microwave frequencies to confirm the high efficiency of energy transfer. The innovative approach, employing photonic doping for advanced and efficient wireless power transfer, may shed light on the new generation of energy efficient communication/sensing systems with versatile control functionalities.