Comprehensive comparison of coil topologies for inductive power transfer systems for automotive applications

In the recent years, there has been a growing interest in electric vehicles (EVs) for future sustainable mobility. EVs present several advantages such as high efficiency, low maintenance, absence of pollutant emissions. However, there are several unsolved problems related to the battery. Induction power transfer (IPT) is a technology that can solve one major issue related to the vehicle autonomy. IPT allows to charge the vehicle battery without any electric contact by using the magnetic coupling between two coils one placed on ground and a second one installed under the EV. The charge can be either static or dynamic i.e. with vehicle stopped or while it is moving. As this technology is still under development, there are many open issues. One of these is related to the shape of the coils. This thesis focuses on the analysis of the electromagnetic properties of the different coil shapes proposed in the current scientific literature by performing a systematic comparison to highlight the main properties of each topology. The evaluation is conducted under repeatable conditions proposed and discussed in this work. The comparison is then provided by analysing the most representative parameters able to describe pros and cons of each coil topology considering representative working conditions. The results of the comparison are presented and discussed.