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Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (17 January 2017) | Viewed by 93032

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Prof. Dr. Sheldon Williamson

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Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, OR L1H 7K4, Canada
Interests: battery-powered vehicles; switching converters; battery chargers; induction motor drives; power capacitors
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Dr. Akshay K. Rathore

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Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
Interests: special machines for electric transportation; permanent magnet and brushless dc motors; switched reluctance and linear motors for transportation; power converters and inverter topologies and control for electric transportation

Dr. Fei Gao

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Assistant Professor, School of Information Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
Interests: photoacoustic imaging; thermoacoustic imaging; medical device; biosensor
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Dr. Ritesh Keshri

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Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Interests: power electronics and drives for electric vehicle propulsion system and renewable, energy storage and management; permanent magnet brushless drives; wireless power transfer for electric vehicle charging

Dr. Jin Ye

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School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Interests: power electronics; electric motor drives; renewable energy conversion; electrified transportation

Postdoctoral Fellow Lalit Patnaik

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Department of Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science University of Ontario-Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, Canada
Interests: power electronics; electric drives; electric vehicles; electro-mechanics; mechatronics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will embrace novel contributions in the areas of electric energy storage systems and charging infrastructures for future transportation electrification applications. The high-level focal points of this special issue include advanced power electronic converter solutions for electric vehicle (EV) charging, electric energy storage systems, energy/power management, and related controller designs. Topics to be included in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

Advanced power electronic converter topologies
Advanced control strategies or algorithms
Power converter topologies for fast- and medium-level charging
Wireless/contactless charging technologies— static and in-motion (dynamic)
Inductive/capacitive power transfer (IPT/CPT) for wireless charging
Coil designs for inductive power transfer systems
Li-ion battery charging issues and/or ultracapacitor charging issues
Energy management/power management for EV chargers
Charging of electric mass transit vehicles
Charging solutions for e-mobility vehicles
Power electronics for PV/solar and wind energy integrated charging
Special electric machines and motor drives for electric transportation applications
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G), vehicle-to-home (V2H), EV/microgrid integration

Assoc. Prof. Sheldon S. Williamson
Assoc. Prof. Akshay K. Rathore
Assoc. Prof. Fei Gao
Assist. Prof. Ritesh Keshri
Assist. Prof. Jin Ye
Post-doctoral Fellow Lalit Patnaik
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

Batteries
Chargers
Controllers
Electrification
Electric machines
Motor drives
Energy storage
Inductive power transfer
Power electronics
Transportation
Wireless power

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Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

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1871 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

A Generic Matrix Method to Model the Magnetics of Multi-Coil Air-Cored Inductive Power Transfer Systems

by Prasanth Venugopal, Soumya Bandyopadhyay, Pavol Bauer and Jan Abraham Ferreira

Energies 2017, 10(6), 774; https://doi.org/10.3390/en10060774 - 3 Jun 2017

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4791

Abstract

This paper deals with a generic methodology to evaluate the magnetic parameters of contactless power transfer systems. Neumann’s integral has been used to create a matrix method that can model the magnetics of single coils (circle, square, rectangle). The principle of superposition has been utilized to extend the theory to multi-coil geometries, such as double circular, double rectangle and double rectangle quadrature. Numerical and experimental validation has been performed to validate the analytical models developed. A rigorous application of the analysis has been carried out to study misalignment and hence the efficacy of various geometries to misalignment tolerance. The comparison of single-coil and multi-coil inductive power transfer systems (MCIPT) considering coupling variation with misalignment, power transferred and maximum efficiency is carried out. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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18400 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on a Multiple-Receiver Inductively Coupled Power Transfer System for Mooring Buoy Applications

by Jiayi Xu, Xingfei Li, Ziming Xie, Huilin Zhang, Tengfei Wu and Cheng Fang

Energies 2017, 10(4), 519; https://doi.org/10.3390/en10040519 - 12 Apr 2017

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5419

Abstract

Inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT) systems, which are superior to batteries due to their real-time power supplycapacity have been used in mooring buoys for the purpose of long-term measurements. A multiple-receiver ICPT system for mooring buoys, which contains a mooring cable for transmitting power, is proposed in this paper to obtain the corresponding profile parameters. Series compensation is applied to all three sections, including the transmitter, the mooring cable and multiple receivers. The voltage of an underwater system with arbitrary load can be stabilized. On that basis, high efficiency can be obtained. By adopting Wolfram Mathematica a detailed analysis of both double-receiver and multiple-receiver ICPT systems for mooring buoys is presented. Finally, a prototype ICPT system with three receivers mounted on a 30 m mooring cable was built to verify the theoretical analysis. Experimental results show that the power transfer efficiency exceeds 45%. Both theoretical analysis and experiments indicate that this system is appropriate for measuring ocean profile parameters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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6946 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Witricity-Based High-Power Device for Wireless Charging of Electric Vehicles

by Zhongyu Dai, Junhua Wang, Mengjiao Long and Hong Huang

Energies 2017, 10(3), 323; https://doi.org/10.3390/en10030323 - 7 Mar 2017

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 7270

Abstract

In this paper, a Witricity-based high-power device is proposed for wireless charging of electric vehicles. According to the specific requirements of three-stage charging for electric vehicles, four compensation modes of the Witricity system are analyzed by the Loosely Coupled Theory among transformer coils and the Substitution Theorem in circuit theory. In addition, when combining voltage withstand levels, the current withstand capability, the switching frequency of electronic switching tubes, and the features of the resonant circuit, the series-parallel (SP) compensation mode is selected as the best compensation mode for matching the capacitor of the system. The performances of coils with different ferrite core arrangements are compared by simulations and models. The feasibility of the system is verified theoretically and the system functions are evaluated by the joint simulation of Simplorer and Maxwell. Finally, a Witricity-based high-power device is proposed as designed, and the correctness of theoretical analyses and simulation results are verified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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13699 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

An Autonomous Coil Alignment System for the Dynamic Wireless Charging of Electric Vehicles to Minimize Lateral Misalignment

by Karam Hwang, Jaeyong Cho, Dongwook Kim, Jaehyoung Park, Jong Hwa Kwon, Sang Il Kwak, Hyun Ho Park and Seungyoung Ahn

Energies 2017, 10(3), 315; https://doi.org/10.3390/en10030315 - 7 Mar 2017

Cited by 63 | Viewed by 10698

Abstract

This paper proposes an autonomous coil alignment system (ACAS) for electric vehicles (EVs) with dynamic wireless charging (DWC) to mitigate the reduction in received power caused by lateral misalignment between the source and load coils. The key component of the ACAS is a novel sensor coil design, which can detect the load coil’s left or right position relative to the source coil by observing the change in voltage phase. This allows the lateral misalignment to be estimated through the wireless power transfer (WPT) system alone, which is a novel tracking method for vehicular applications. Once misalignment is detected, the vehicle’s lateral position is self-adjusted by an autonomous steering function. The feasibility of the overall operation of the ACAS was verified through simulation and experiments. In addition, an analysis based on experimental results was conducted, demonstrating that 26% more energy can be transferred during DWC with the ACAS, just by keeping the vehicle’s load coil aligned with the source coil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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3640 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Circulating Current Reduction Strategy for Parallel-Connected Inverters Based IPT Systems

by Ruikun Mai, Liwen Lu, Yong Li, Tianren Lin and Zhengyou He

Energies 2017, 10(3), 261; https://doi.org/10.3390/en10030261 - 23 Feb 2017

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5639

Abstract

Multiple inverters connected in parallel is a promising method to upgrade the power capacity of inductive power transfer (IPT) systems. Due to a slight unbalance of the control signals, the inner resistances of the inverters and other uncertainties, circulating currents exist among the parallel units which reduce the reliability of IPT systems. Firstly, the series-parallel resonant tank is employed in the multiple inverters based IPT system to eliminate the DC and harmonic circulating currents. The fundamental circulating currents in the paralleled inverter units are analyzed in detail. Then, for eliminating the fundamental circulating currents, a current decomposition method and a control diagram are proposed to avoid acquiring the phase of the current by detecting zero cross current point which increases the accuracy of the control algorithm. Finally, a 1-kW parallel-connected inverter IPT system is provided to verify the proposed approach. The experimental results show that the proposed method is effective for eliminating the fundamental circulating currents. The maximum efficiency of the system is up to 92.18% which is 0.53% higher compared to that without the current phasor control (91.65%). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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6768 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Maximum Efficiency Point Tracking Control Scheme Based on Different Cross Coupling of Dual-Receiver Inductive Power Transfer System

by Ruikun Mai, Linsen Ma, Yeran Liu, Pengfei Yue, Guangzhong Cao and Zhengyou He

Energies 2017, 10(2), 217; https://doi.org/10.3390/en10020217 - 13 Feb 2017

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5100

Abstract

One of the most promising inductive power transfer applications is the wireless power supply for locomotives which may cancel the need for pantographs. In order to meet the dynamic and high power demands of wireless power supplies for locomotives, a relatively long transmitter track and multiple receivers are usually adopted. However, during the dynamic charging, the mutual inductances between the transmitter and receivers vary and the load of the locomotives also changes randomly, which dramatically affects the system efficiency. A maximum efficiency point tracking control scheme is proposed to improve the system efficiency against the variation of the load and the mutual inductances between the transmitter and receivers while considering the cross coupling between receivers. Firstly, a detailed theoretical analysis on dual receivers is carried out. Then a control scheme with three control loops is proposed to regulate the receiver currents to be the same, to regulate the output voltage and to search for the maximum efficiency point. Finally, a 2 kW prototype is established to validate the performance of the proposed method. The overall system efficiency (DC-DC efficiency) reaches 90.6% at rated power and is improved by 5.8% with the proposed method under light load compared with the traditional constant output voltage control method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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9449 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Optimization of an Inductively Coupled Power Transfer System for the Underwater Sensors of Ocean Buoys

by Cheng Fang, Xingfei Li, Ziming Xie, Jiayi Xu and Linling Xiao

Energies 2017, 10(1), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/en10010084 - 11 Jan 2017

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6042

Abstract

Batteries are commonly used as the power source of present underwater sensors of ocean buoys. However, batteries need to be frequently replaced, which is costly. To implement the real-time power supply for a buoy’s underwater sensor, a new inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT) system that consists of two couplers and a closed cable is proposed in this paper. The special closed cable, which is the both mooring cable and transmission media, is designed to diminish the influence of changes on impedance. A model of the particular ICPT system is established. Optimization of system parameters are carried out based on the model and verified by means of the simulations. Resonant compensation is used to improve the power transfer performance. Finally, many experiments are implemented to compare with the original prototype. It is confirmed that this system can help solve the difficulty of the energy limit to a buoy’s underwater sensor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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4518 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Linearization and Control of Series-Series Compensated Inductive Power Transfer System Based on Extended Describing Function Concept

by Kunwar Aditya and Sheldon Williamson

Energies 2016, 9(11), 962; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9110962 - 17 Nov 2016

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 7359

Abstract

The extended describing function (EDF) is a well-known method for modelling resonant converters due to its high accuracy. However, it requires complex mathematical formulation effort. This paper presents a simplified non-linear mathematical model of series-series (SS) compensated inductive power transfer (IPT) system, considering zero-voltage switching in the inverter. This simplified mathematical model permits the user to derive the small-signal model using the EDF method, with less computational effort, while maintaining the accuracy of an actual physical model. The derived model has been verified using a frequency sweep method in PLECS. The small-signal model has been used to design the voltage loop controller for a SS compensated IPT system. The designed controller was implemented on a 3.6 kW experimental setup, to test its robustness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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7585 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis and Design of an Active Stabilizer for a Boost Power Converter System

by Yigeng Huangfu, Shengzhao Pang, Babak Nahid-Mobarakeh, Akshay Rathore, Fei Gao and Dongdong Zhao

Energies 2016, 9(11), 934; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9110934 - 10 Nov 2016

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4769

Abstract

In electrical power converter systems, the presence of an LC input filter can efficiently reduce the Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) effect, and at the same time protect the converter and the load from being impacted by sharp input impulse voltages. However, for transportation applications, the weight and size limitations of input LC filters for power converters have to be taken into consideration. The reduction of LC filter size may impair the system stability margin and dynamic response. In serve cases, the system may even become unstable. Thus, in order to ensure the system stability while minimizing the input LC filter size, the implementation of a stabilizer for the system control is needed. In this paper, a novel digital stabilizer design method is proposed for a boost power converter with a small input LC filter. The proposed method is based on input filter inductance current measurements and DSP (Digital Signal Processor) -based digital stabilizer design. Simulation and experimentation confirm the validity of the proposed approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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5862 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimal Magnetic Field Shielding Method by Metallic Sheets in Wireless Power Transfer System

by Feng Wen and Xueliang Huang

Energies 2016, 9(9), 733; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9090733 - 9 Sep 2016

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 8465

Abstract

To meet the regulations established to limit human exposure to time-varying electromagnetic fields (EMFs) such as the International Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines, thin metallic sheets are often used to shield magnetic field leakage in high power applications of wireless power transfer (WPT) systems based on magnetic field coupling. However, the metals in the vicinity of the WPT coils cause the decrease of self and mutual inductances and increase of effective series resistance; as such, the electric performance including transmission power and the efficiency of the system is affected. With the research objective of further investigating excellent shielding effectiveness associated with system performance, the utilization of the optimal magnetic field shielding method by metallic sheets in magnetic field coupling WPT is carried out in this paper. The circuit and 3D Finite Element Analysis (FEA) models are combined to predict the magnetic field distribution and electrical performance. Simulation and experiment results show that the method is very effective by obtaining the largest possible coupling coefficient of the WPT coils within the allowable range and then reducing the value nearest to and no smaller than the critical coupling coefficient via geometric unbroken metallic sheets. The optimal magnetic field shielding method which considers the system efficiency, transmission power, transmission distance, and system size is also achieved using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The results can benefit WPT by helping to achieve efficient energy transfer and safe use in metal shielded equipment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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4915 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Proposal on Low Frequency AC Transmission as a Multi-Terminal Transmission System

by Achara Pichetjamroen and Toshifumi Ise

Energies 2016, 9(9), 687; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9090687 - 29 Aug 2016

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4985

Abstract

This paper is focused on the discussion and comparison of characteristics and behavior of three low frequency ac (LFAC) transmission system configurations operating under the same control scheme and conditions to identify the most promising operation system for LFAC. Merits of LFAC over high voltage direct current (HVDC) are mentioned first. By changing power flow direction without auxiliary switches in multi-terminal application and easiness of short circuit protection are explained. The three configurations of LFACs are described and applied by the control scheme with the aid of the tool of the PSCAD/EMTDC software to consider the behavior of each LFAC system on line frequency and low frequency sides. For two-phase system, no fluctuation occurs on the line frequency side, which is the advantage over single-phase system. Furthermore, current rating on thyristor devices during operation and number of devices that used in each type of LFAC are calculated and compared. These results can lead to determine the most suitable transmission system for the LFAC system operation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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6568 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis and Performance Improvement of WPT Systems in the Environment of Single Non-Ferromagnetic Metal Plates

by Linlin Tan, Jiacheng Li, Chen Chen, Changxin Yan, Jinpeng Guo and Xueliang Huang

Energies 2016, 9(8), 576; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9080576 - 25 Jul 2016

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5433

Abstract

Wireless power transfer (WPT) is greatly affected when the transmission channel is surrounded by non-ferromagnetic metallic objects and the alternating magnetic field interacts with the metal conductor, which is more of an issue in wirelessly charged electric vehicle (EV) applications. This paper analyses the performances of a WPT system in an environment with a non-ferromagnetic metal plate. The impedance model of the WPT system in the metal environment is established. Moreover the variation law of a coil’s equivalent inductance and resistance is deduced when the coil is surrounded by the non-ferromagnetic metal plate. Meanwhile, simulations, theory and experiments all confirm that the model is correct. Finally, since the system performance of a wireless charging system is influenced by non-ferromagnetic metals, this paper puts forward a method to improve the performance, that is, to place ferrite cores between the receiving coil and a metal plate. Experiments are carried out to verify the method, and the desired results are achieved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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2405 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Super-Twisting Differentiator-Based High Order Sliding Mode Voltage Control Design for DC-DC Buck Converters

by Yigeng Huangfu, Shengrong Zhuo, Akshay Kumar Rathore, Elena Breaz, Babak Nahid-Mobarakeh and Fei Gao

Energies 2016, 9(7), 494; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9070494 - 28 Jun 2016

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 7369

Abstract

This paper aims to focus on the smooth output of DC-DC buck converters in wireless power transfer systems under input perturbations and load disturbances using the high-order sliding mode controller (HOSM) and HOSM with super-twisting differentiator (HOSM + STD). The proposed control approach needs only measurement of converter output voltage. Theoretical analysis and design procedures, as well as the super-twisting differentiator of the proposed controller are presented in detail with the prescribed convergence law of high-order sliding modes. Comparisons of both simulation and experimental results among conventional proportional-integral (PI) control, traditional sliding mode control (SMC), HOSM and HOSM + STD under various test conditions such as steady state, input voltage perturbations and output load disturbances, are presented and discussed. The results demonstrate and validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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Review

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4173 KiB

Open AccessReview

Review on Contactless Power Transfer for Electric Vehicle Charging

by Ravikiran Vaka and Ritesh Kumar Keshri

Energies 2017, 10(5), 636; https://doi.org/10.3390/en10050636 - 5 May 2017

Cited by 56 | Viewed by 8318

Abstract

For the past few years the feasibility of contactless power transfer (CPT) is being explored extensively as a future solution for charging electric vehicles (EVs). Studies report that the main obstacles in CPT are low power efficiency, misalignment tolerance, cost, range and charging time anxiety. This paper presents a review based on existing literature of the CPT systems for EV charging. Different cases of CPT technologies, their principle of operation and equivalent circuit based analysis is carried out. A discussion on compensation strategies and their effectiveness are reviewed and discussed. The design of coil systems for some city electric cars has been referenced in general. At the end recommendations and conclusions are made based on the study and analysis of the information available in literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Power Electronics and Control for Wireless Power Transfer Systems)

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