Design and Development of a Class EF2 Inverter and Rectifier for Multi-megahertz Wireless Power Transfer Systems

This paper presents the design and implementation of a Class EF2 inverter and Class EF2 rectifier for two -W wireless power transfer (WPT) systems, one operating at 6.78 MHz and the other at 27.12 MHz. It will be shown that the Class EF2 circuits can be designed to have beneficial features for WPT applications such as reduced second-harmonic component and lower total harmonic distortion, higher power-output capability, reduction in magnetic core requirements and operation at higher frequencies in rectification compared to other circuit topologies. A model will first be presented to analyze the circuits and to derive values of its components to achieve optimum switching operation. Additional analysis regarding harmonic content, magnetic core requirements and open-circuit protection will also be performed. The design and implementation process of the two Class-EF2-based WPT systems will be discussed and compared to an equivalent Class-E-based WPT system. Experimental results will be provided to confirm validity of the analysis. A dc-dc efficiency of 75% was achieved with Class-EF2-based systems

Load-independent Class EF inverters for inductive wireless power transfer

This paper will present the modelling, analysis and design of a load-independent Class EF inverter. This inverter is able to maintain zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operation and produce a constant output current for any load value without the need for tuning or replacement of components. The load-independent feature of this inverter is beneficial when used as the primary coil driver in multi megahertz high power inductive wireless power transfer (WPT) applications where the distance between the coils and the load are variable. The work here begins with the traditional load-dependent Class EF topology for inversion and then specifies the criteria that are required to be met in order achieve load-independence. The design and development of a 240W load-independent Class EF inverter to drive the primary coil of a 6.78MHz WPT system will be discussed and experimental results will be presented to show the load-independence feature when the distance between the coils of the WPT system changes

Current State of Research at Imperial College London in RF Harvesting and Inductive Power Transfer

This paper presents simulation and experimental results for ambient RF energy harvesting and Inductive Power Transfer systems. End-to-end and dc-load efficiency measurements and calculations were performed to demonstrate the capabilities of both systems, respectively. An RF spectral survey was conducted across all the 270 underground stations in London. DTV, GSM900, GSM1800 and 3G were selected as the highest contributors and single banded rectennas were fabricated for all frequencies. Ground level measurements demonstrate that more than 50 stations have suitable channel power levels per band to allow ambient RF energy harvesting. Efficiencies of up to 40% were achieved with a single banded rectenna operating at GSM 900, and efficiencies higher than 20% were achieved for TV and 3G. Furthermore a high frequency, semi-resonant Class-E driver was used to transfer 60 W of power across a 30 cm distance with a dc-load efficiency of 66%

Aspergillus mastoiditis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

We present the case history of a patient who was severely immunocompromised due to infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and who subsequently developed acute mastoiditis due to Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal otomastoiditis is a rarely reported complication of HIV infection. A high index of suspicion is required in these patients to facilitate early diagnosis and appropriate therapy

A reflected impedance estimation technique for inductive power transfer

This paper proposes a technique to estimate the equivalent reflected impedance on the transmit side of an inductive power transfer (IPT) system, produced by an inductively coupled load. This technique consists of analysing changes in the drain voltage waveform of the switching devices to estimate the reflected impedance, and hence not require feedback information from the receive side or the coupling between the coils. The correlation between the drain voltage waveform and the reflected impedance is done by training a model with machine learning techniques. The proposed impedance estimation method is demonstrated using circuit simulations and is verified experimentally, with an IPT transmitter driven by a load independent Class EF inverter operating at 13.56 MHz. The IPT receiver consists of an ac-load which allows changes in the residual reactance. The model trained from experimental data is capable of estimating the equivalent reflected impedance with an accuracy (coefficient of determination) of 0.9899 for the real part and 0.9743 for the imaginary part

Multi-megahertz IPT systems for biomedical devices applications

This paper investigates the main design constraints for the optimisation of an inductive power transfer (IPT) link for recharging implantable medical devices [1], and presents the potential advantages of operating in the multi-MHz range for such applications. The design proposed in this paper offers a fast charging solution, allowing patients to recharge their active medical implants every 4-5 years for 40% of its battery capability. The main challenge consists of obtaining good coupling and effective Q factor of the receiver coil, while minimizing the overall increase in size of the medical implant. Analysis obtained through electromagnetic simulations with CST Studio Suite for a 13.56 MHz, 1 W system suggests that it is possible to achieve a relatively high theoretical link efficiency of 66%, while keeping surface temperature increases and specific absorption rate (SAR) within the limits established in EN 45502 [2] and ICNIRP 1998 [3]. The experimental results show two feasible systems with different separation distances between the device's metallic case and the receiver coil, achieving transfer efficiencies [11] of 41% and 53% for separations of 1 mm and 7 mm, respectively

A multi-MHz wireless power transfer system with mains power factor correction circuitry on the receiver

This paper proposes the implementation of a new system topology for multi-MHz inductive power transfer (IPT) systems, which achieves unity power factor when fed from a mains power supply without traditional active circuitry in the front-end as a mains interface. Experiments were performed using an IPT-link which consists of two 20 cm two-turn air-core printed-circuit-board (pcb) coils separated by an air-gap of 13 cm. At the transmit side, a push-pull load-independent Class EF inverter fed from a rectified 60 Hz power supply with no bulk capacitor was designed to drive the transmit coil at 13.56 MHz. This inverter, which has two choke inductors between the voltage source and the two switches, similar to that of an interleaved boost converter, is suitable to be fed directly from a rectified mains source because it tolerates large changes on the input voltage. The IPT rectifier in the experiments was built using a dual current-driven Class D-based topology which allows for higher output voltage when the induced electromotive force (emf) on the receive coil is low. The final power conversion stage on the receive side is a power factor correction (PFC) boost converter that regulates the output voltage and shapes the current waveform at the input of the system. This stage is the only part of the system with closed-loop control. The end-to-end efficiency was measured at 73.3% with 99.2% power factor, when powering a load of 150 W

Crystal Structure of the ZrO Phase at Zirconium/Zirconium Oxide Interfaces

Zirconium-based alloys are used in water-cooled nuclear reactors for both nuclear fuel cladding and structural components. Under this harsh environment, the main factor limiting the service life of zirconium cladding, and hence fuel burn-up efficiency, is water corrosion. This oxidation process has recently been linked to the presence of a sub-oxide phase with well-defined composition but unknown structure at the metal–oxide interface. In this paper, the combination of first-principles materials modeling and high-resolution electron microscopy is used to identify the structure of this sub-oxide phase, bringing us a step closer to developing strategies to mitigate aqueous oxidation in Zr alloys and prolong the operational lifetime of commercial fuel cladding alloys