Review on Key Factors of Wireless Power Transfer Technology for Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) have become an alternative option for a clean energy society. A new charging technology which is wireless charging has been developed to satisfy the limitations of EVs which are the electric drive range and battery storage. Companies like Tesla, BMW, and Nissan have already started to develop wireless charging for EVs. This paper presents a literature review on wireless charging of EVs. The existing technologies for Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) system are summarized for different power applications. Coil design plays the most vital role in the WPT system so the different coil design with the transferred efficiency is reviewed. The other important parameters and technical components like significant factors of WPT system, track layout of dynamic wireless charging, foreign object detection method, and position alignment method that are affecting the efficiency of the wireless charging system are also discussed. Lastly, health and safety concerns for human beings and living things are investigated

Analysis of rectangular EV inductive charging coupler

© 2017 IEEE. The number of commercial electric vehicles has increased significantly in recent years. However, there are still limited recharging facilities for EVs. Wireless charging offers an alternative way to recharge with more flexibility and convenience. The wireless transformer/coupler is the key component in electric vehicle wireless charging. The maximum power transfer capability is limited by the coupler. In order to reach desired power transfer level, the parameters of the wireless transformer should be analyzed. The wireless power transfer system design also requires accurate coupler parameters. In this paper, rectangular pads with different size of ferrite bars were analyzed in finite element analysis software. The prototype was built to valid the simulation result

Review on stationary CPT technologies and coil designs for EVs

In the recent decade, the driving range of pure EVs with zero emission target has become a popular topic as the massive battery requirement for longer distance travels means higher vehicle cost and longer time of recharging periods. Stationary CPT charging solutions could be an alternative to reduce EVs weight, size and energy storage unit costs. Fortunately, with progressive success of low-power CPT charging applications proposed to be commercially produced in the past decade, hundreds of kilowatts level high-power CPT charging techniques for EVs are more and more expected to be an optimally suitable solution for recharging EV batteries, providing higher propulsion and delivering continuously longer driving range in the next generations of the EVs. The idea of deploying inductive coupling for EVs has acquired a lot of attentions in the last decade due to the contributions and advancements of power electronics, switching power supply, semiconductors, microprocessors, electrochemistry, material sciences, control technologies, electromagnetics and so on, despite many challenges to be addressed including EV manufacturing integration with CPT system under the chassis, infrastructure difficulties, system maintenance on both vehicle and transmitting ground sides, actual CPT performance with real-time coupling on real-world road. In order to ensure the realization and enhance the sustainability in transportation sector with the emerging CPT ideas, currently the stationary CPT charging solutions based on inductive power transfer (IPT) have been developed from laboratory level as a first step to the practical tests of commercial realizations. In a few industrial fields nowadays, some of the proposed CPT technologies with specific coupler coil designs have been expected for real-world applications. This article presents a state of the art of the CPT technologies and focuses on reviewing current coil designs for high-power contactless energy transfer for EVs in the literature

Inductive Wireless Power Transfer Charging for Electric vehicles - A Review

Considering a future scenario in which a driverless Electric Vehicle (EV) needs an automatic charging system without human intervention. In this regard, there is a requirement for a fully automatable, fast, safe, cost-effective, and reliable charging infrastructure that provides a profitable business model and fast adoption in the electrified transportation systems. These qualities can be comprehended through wireless charging systems. Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) is a futuristic technology with the advantage of flexibility, convenience, safety, and the capability of becoming fully automated. In WPT methods resonant inductive wireless charging has to gain more attention compared to other wireless power transfer methods due to high efficiency and easy maintenance. This literature presents a review of the status of Resonant Inductive Wireless Power Transfer Charging technology also highlighting the present status and its future of the wireless EV market. First, the paper delivers a brief history throw lights on wireless charging methods, highlighting the pros and cons. Then, the paper aids a comparative review of different type’s inductive pads, rails, and compensations technologies done so far. The static and dynamic charging techniques and their characteristics are also illustrated. The role and importance of power electronics and converter types used in various applications are discussed. The batteries and their management systems as well as various problems involved in WPT are also addressed. Different trades like cyber security economic effects, health and safety, foreign object detection, and the effect and impact on the distribution grid are explored. Prospects and challenges involved in wireless charging systems are also highlighting in this work. We believe that this work could help further the research and development of WPT systems.publishedVersio

Capacitive power transfer for maritime electrical charging applications

Wireless power transfer can provide the convenience of automatic charging while the ships or maritime vehicles are docking, mooring, or in a sailing maneuver. It can address the challenges facing conventional wired charging technologies, including long charging and queuing time, wear and tear of the physical contacts, handling cables and wires, and electric shock hazards. Capacitive power transfer (CPT) is one of the wireless charging technologies that has received attention in on-road electric vehicle charging applications. By the main of electric fields, CPT offers an inexpensive and light charging solution with good misalignment performance. Thus, this study investigates the CPT system in which air and water are the separation medium for the electrical wireless charging of small ships and unmanned maritime vehicles. Unlike on-road charging applications, air or water can be utilized as charging mediums to charge small ships and unmanned maritime vehicles. Because of the low permittivity of the air, the air-gapped capacitive coupling in the Pico Farad range requires a mega-hertz operating frequency to transfer power over a few hundred millimeters. This study examines an air-gapped CPT system to transfer about 135 W at a separation distance of 50 mm, a total efficiency of approximately 83.9%, and a 1 MHz operating efficiency. At 13.56 MHz, the study tested a shielded air-gapped CPT system that transfers about 100 W at a separation distance of 30 mm and a total efficiency of about 87%. The study also examines the underwater CPT system by submerging the couplers in water to increase the capacitive coupling. The system can transfer about 129 W at a separation distance of 300 mm, a total efficiency of aboutapproximately%, and a 1.1 MHz operating efficiency. These CPT systems can upscale to provide a few kW for small ships and unmanned maritime vehicles. But they are still facing several challenges that need further investigations

Design of Capacitive Wireless Power Transfer Systems with Enhanced Power Density and Stray Field Shielding

Wireless power transfer is becoming relevant today because of its effectiveness and convenience. It has been employed into consumer electronics such as cellular charging and electric vehicle charging. In general, inductive wireless power transfer (IPT) is mostly used for WPT. IPT requires coils and power transfer enhancing material such as ferrite to transfer power. However, Capacitive wireless Power Transfer (CPT) appears as an alternative because it requires cost effective and light metal plate couplers. Among CPT couplers, Vertical (stacked) Four-Plate Coupler (V4PC) structure offers the advantage of higher input and output self-capacitances, rotational misalignment. Safety is one of the most important aspect of wireless power transfer. This thesis proposes a solution to minimize the leakage electric field of Vertical 4-Plate Couplers (V4PCs). It does so by finding the optimum value of circuit parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed solution is shown by experimental results

Challenges and Barriers of Wireless Charging Technologies for Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles could be a significant aid in lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Even though extensive study has been done on the features and traits of electric vehicles and the nature of their charging infrastructure, network modeling for electric vehicle manufacturing has been limited and unchanging. The necessity of wireless electric vehicle charging, based on magnetic resonance coupling, drove the primary aims for this review work. Herein, we examined the basic theoretical framework for wireless power transmission systems for EV charging and performed a software-in-the-loop analysis, in addition to carrying out a performance analysis of an EV charging system based on magnetic resonance. This study also covered power pad designs and created workable remedies for the following issues: (i) how power pad positioning affected the function of wireless charging systems and (ii) how to develop strategies to keep power efficiency at its highest level. Moreover, safety features of wireless charging systems, owing to interruption from foreign objects and/or living objects, were analyzed, and solutions were proposed to ensure such systems would operate as safely and optimally as possible

Bidirectional Electric Vehicles Service Integration in Smart Power Grid with Renewable Energy Resources

As electric vehicles (EVs) become more popular, the utility companies are forced to increase power generations in the grid. However, these EVs are capable of providing power to the grid to deliver different grid ancillary services in a concept known as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and grid-to-vehicle (G2V), in which the EV can serve as a load or source at the same time. These services can provide more benefits when they are integrated with Photovoltaic (PV) generation. The proper modeling, design and control for the power conversion systems that provide the optimum integration among the EVs, PV generations and grid are investigated in this thesis. The coupling between the PV generation and integration bus is accomplished through a unidirectional converter. Precise dynamic and small-signal models for the grid-connected PV power system are developed and utilized to predict the system’s performance during the different operating conditions. An advanced intelligent maximum power point tracker based on fuzzy logic control is developed and designed using a mix between the analytical model and genetic algorithm optimization. The EV is connected to the integration bus through a bidirectional inductive wireless power transfer system (BIWPTS), which allows the EV to be charged and discharged wirelessly during the long-term parking, transient stops and movement. Accurate analytical and physics-based models for the BIWPTS are developed and utilized to forecast its performance, and novel practical limitations for the active and reactive power-flow during G2V and V2G operations are stated. A comparative and assessment analysis for the different compensation topologies in the symmetrical BIWPTS was performed based on analytical, simulation and experimental data. Also, a magnetic design optimization for the double-D power pad based on finite-element analysis is achieved. The nonlinearities in the BIWPTS due to the magnetic material and the high-frequency components are investigated rely on a physics-based co-simulation platform. Also, a novel two-layer predictive power-flow controller that manages the bidirectional power-flow between the EV and grid is developed, implemented and tested. In addition, the feasibility of deploying the quasi-dynamic wireless power transfer technology on the road to charge the EV during the transient stops at the traffic signals is proven

Design Considerations of Capacitive Power Transfer Systems

Capacitive power transfer (CPT) is a near-field wireless power transfer (WPT) technology that has attracted attention in different charging applications. By utilizing electric fields, CPT gives charging systems advantages in terms of cost, weight, flexibility, and mobility. This paper surveys a number of empirical published works in a period between 2015 and 2023. Additionally, it discusses theoretical and practical design considerations of a CPT system to understand and improve the technology and its applications. The paper studies the one- and two-port measuring approaches using vector network analyzers to determine the coupling parameters and compares the measurements to the simulated values using COMSOL Multiphysics ©. The two-port approach gives more accurate results than the one-port approach. The paper designs and tests a 13.56MHz CPT system using the two-port measurement results. The system transfers 100W at 87.4% efficiency and 30mm separation distance. Lastly, the paper discusses the design limitations and challenges of the CPT systems, aiming to emphasize the design obstacles that can drive the advancement of the CPT systems for wireless charging applications