Magnetic coupler optimization for inductive power transfer system of unmanned aerial vehicles
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Author(s)
Li, X
Lu, J
Stegen, S
Year published
2021
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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been widely used in military and civilian applications. However, the insufficient cruising range restricts the development of UAVs due to the limitation of their battery. Inductive power transfer (IPT) is an effective way to charge the battery and solve this problem. Magnetic coupler is a key component of the IPT system, which greatly affects the power transfer and efficiency of the IPT. This paper proposes a new magnetic coupler with vertical spiral coils and ferrite PQI cores for the IPT system of UAVs, which can enhance the magnetic coupling and improve the performance of the IPT system. ...
View more >Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been widely used in military and civilian applications. However, the insufficient cruising range restricts the development of UAVs due to the limitation of their battery. Inductive power transfer (IPT) is an effective way to charge the battery and solve this problem. Magnetic coupler is a key component of the IPT system, which greatly affects the power transfer and efficiency of the IPT. This paper proposes a new magnetic coupler with vertical spiral coils and ferrite PQI cores for the IPT system of UAVs, which can enhance the magnetic coupling and improve the performance of the IPT system. Finite element simulations are used to investigate the magnetic field distribution and coupling capability of the proposed magnetic coupler. In addition, an experimental platform is built to prove the validity of the IPT system using the proposed magnetic coupler. The results show that the coupling coefficient can reach 0.98, and the system transfer efficiency is 89.27% with an output power of 93 W. The IPT system also has a perfect misalignment tolerance and can achieve a stable output power.
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View more >Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been widely used in military and civilian applications. However, the insufficient cruising range restricts the development of UAVs due to the limitation of their battery. Inductive power transfer (IPT) is an effective way to charge the battery and solve this problem. Magnetic coupler is a key component of the IPT system, which greatly affects the power transfer and efficiency of the IPT. This paper proposes a new magnetic coupler with vertical spiral coils and ferrite PQI cores for the IPT system of UAVs, which can enhance the magnetic coupling and improve the performance of the IPT system. Finite element simulations are used to investigate the magnetic field distribution and coupling capability of the proposed magnetic coupler. In addition, an experimental platform is built to prove the validity of the IPT system using the proposed magnetic coupler. The results show that the coupling coefficient can reach 0.98, and the system transfer efficiency is 89.27% with an output power of 93 W. The IPT system also has a perfect misalignment tolerance and can achieve a stable output power.
View less >
Journal Title
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
21
Copyright Statement
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Subject
Aerospace engineering