Optimization Design of Inductive Wireless Power Transfer System

Abstract

Wireless power transfer (WPT) is an attractive solution for charging electric vehicles due to several distinct advantages such as autonomy and the possibility of dynamic charging. However, due to the many requirements that these chargers require to achieve, the design process can be complex and demanding. This work presents an evolutionary optimization design framework for the design of a WPT system taking into account electromagnetic, electrical and geometrical constraints. Based on general design specs such as the required power and air-gap between coils, and four design specs related to the geometry of the coils, the optimization process finds not only the appropriate coil design that maximizes the optimization objective, but also the required resonance capacitors, the load resistance needed to maximize power transfer, and the power losses in the WPT system and driving inverter. Several case studies are presented to demonstrate the proposed design framework, and a prototype is built and tested in-lab and validated against the predicted values. Good initial results are reported with room for improvement as will be discussed.

Date of Award	Jul 2021
Original language	American English