Characterization of the magnetic coupler for a dynamic inductive power transfer system

The market for electric cars is growing more and more. The environmental benefits they bring, particularly in inner city areas, are considerably greater than those of a conventional internal combustion car. One of the most studied aspects, given the big steps forward that electric technology has made over the years, is the charging of the battery of vehicles and how to optimize it. Several solutions have been presented over time and this document aims to analyze one of these: inductive (wireless) charging. In particular, this technology allows to charge the car both in case of parking and in case of movement, talking respectively of static Inductive power transfer and dynamic Inductive power transfer. The core of the IPT system is the magnetic coupler: the electromagnetic part that allows to exchange energy between the power supply (primary coil) and the receiver (secondary coil). The purpose of the work is to characterize the behavior of this part of the system in terms of mutual inductance M and coupling factor k in a dynamic situation. Different working conditions were analyzed with multiple geometric configurations between the primary and secondary coil and for each of them the behavior of M and k, combining the graphs together in order to identify the critical aspects in the design of such a system. The final part encapsulates the mechanical improvement work done on the in-wheel IPT technology prototype pesent in the Laboratório de Sistemas Energéticos (LSE) of Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT) located in the Departamento de Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores (DEEC) of Universidade de Coimbra (UC) in order to adapt it to a dynamic situation. For it to be used for this purpose, further work is planned.