The characteristics of inductive power-transfer (IPT) systems are sensitive to the variation of the coupling coefficient caused by misalignment conditions or different gaps. This results in a reduction in transferred power and efficiency. The output characteristics considering frequency modulation applied in series–series (SS), inductor–capacitor–capacitor (LCC)-S and LCC–LCC compensated IPT systems have been explored, revealing that high-order compensation topologies hold limited power regulation ability if coupling varies significantly. The parameter sensitivity of LCC–LCC-compensated topology is investigated through the singular values (SVs) analysis. It is found that the variation of the parallel-compensated capacitors has the greatest impact on the output power. Aiming at alleviating the power drop caused by the coupling variation, a parameter offline tuning method realized by switching the parallel-compensated capacitance for a detuned LCC–LCC resonant converter is proposed for electric vehicle (EV) wireless charging. Analytical expressions have been derived in aiding the design of modified value of capacitance ensuring primary zero voltage switching (ZVS) operation. Thus, the detuned parameter combinations, which deliver rated power even with the worst coupling, are obtained. Finally, a 6.6-kw prototype has been built to verify the validity of the proposed topology, which can deliver 6.1 kW with an efficiency of 94% even when the coupling drops from 0.3 to 0.15.

In this article, an efficiency-oriented control strategy is proposed for LCC–LCC-compensated wireless power transfer (WPT) system to achieve zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) operation over a wide current regulation range, in which full-bridge (FB) and half-bridge (HB) modes are combined and switchable based on requirements from load. The harmonic-considered time-domain models for FB and HB modes are first built to calculate current through the switches at the turn- off moment accurately. Then, focused on the constant voltage charge stage with variable output current, the ZVS boundaries are identified in HB and FB modes as the preferable control trajectories, which determines the desired current output with joint considerations of frequency, phase-shift angle, and duty ratio. Next, a least squares optimization method is introduced to fit the theoretical control trajectories into a smooth curve that is practical for implementation on microcontrollers. Finally, a 4.4-kW WPT prototype is built to verify the feasibility and validity of the proposed control strategy. Results show that a high system efficiency can be achieved over a wide output current range, with an efficiency of 94.68% even at 20% rated power.

Inductive power transfer (IPT) is an attractive wireless power charging option in many applications such as electric vehicle biomedical devices and consumer electronics, etc. Constant current and constant voltage (CC-CV) charging profile is widely used for charging applications due to affecting the life and the reliability of the Li-ion battery. However, the IPT systems that can achieve both CC and CV modes with soft switching are not well studied. This paper presents an inductive power transfer system for wireless charging without a back-end converter, which achieves the required two-stage charging profile with high efficiency by keeping inverters’ soft switching operation. The characteristics of an LCC-S compensation topology have been investigated thoroughly. Two fixed resonant frequencies, whose analytical expressions have been derived, can be found to realize constant current output and constant voltage output respectively under zero-phase angle condition. Besides, an effective tuning method has been presented for zero voltage switching realization to reduce the switching loss. Moreover, a parameter design procedure has been summarized for the wireless charger with a simplified structure and high efficiency. Finally, the method is validated through experiments on a 3.5kW prototype realizing constant current and constant voltage outputs with a peak efficiency of 97.3%.

Thermal design is particularly important for high-power and compact inductive power transfer (IPT) systems having a limited surface area for heat dissipation. This article presents the thermal design and optimization of a 30-kW IPT system for electric vehicles. An improved analytical thermal model with high accuracy for liquid-cooled magnetic couplers was proposed by using the thermal network method (TNM). It considers heating components and thermal interface materials. Then, the multiobjective thermal optimization procedure of the liquid-cooled magnetic coupler was conducted with the presented model. Tradeoffs among temperature rise, weight, and cost were discussed, and an optimized solution was selected. The thermal FE models were established and compared with the thermal networks. Subsequently, the thermal performance of the system at different power levels and misaligned conditions was analyzed. The experimental setup based on the fiber Bragg grating sensors was built, and the prototypes were tested with an output power of around 28 kW. The error of stable temperature between the experiment and the prediction was less than 10% at the measurement points, verifying the thermal models. The proposed thermal models and optimization procedure accelerate the thermal design of IPT systems, toward higher power density.

The efficiency of wireless power transfer (WPT) systems is highly dependent on the load and dc voltage gain, which may change in a wide range in electric vehicle (EV) charging applications. Besides, existing control triple-phase-shift (TPS) strategies aimed at power regulation, zero-voltage switching (ZVS) realization and maximum efficiency point tracking (MEPT) have limitations when applied to the wide output voltage application. To fill this gap, a segmented TPS modulation scheme is proposed. Considering wide-range ZVS, three different working modes are derived to achieve MEPT over the wide output voltage range. The proposed modulation scheme employs closed-loop control by integrating different working modes. In addition, the efficiency-oriented seamless transition method among different working modes is described, which can avoid the transient oscillation at the boundary of the mode transition. The proposed modulation scheme's on-state loss and switching loss are compared to the traditional TPS modulation scheme. Finally, a 1.5 kW prototype has been built to verify effectiveness of the proposed modulation scheme within the wide voltage range, and the measured efficiency can be increased by up to 0.82% in the deep buck mode and 2.20% in the deep boost mode.

To meet the requirement of the battery charging characteristics and electric vehicle interoperability, wide power range and wide voltage range are important for the wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging system. Hence, ensuring zero voltage switching (ZVS) and high efficiency over the wide operating range is a hot issue but not well resolved. To address the current state of research, an efficiency-oriented control strategy is proposed for LCC-S compensated Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) system to achieve minimum ZVS current over a wide voltage and power regulation range. Based on the accurate harmonic-considered time-domain model, a universal design method for system parameters under the worst ZVS current conditions within wide operation range is proposed. Then, the universal explicit expression at the unit voltage gain point is given. Moreover, based on the simplified fitting method of piecewise bi-quadratic interpolation (PBQI), minimum ZVS current and minimum non-active current can be ensured over the full output voltage and output power range. A 3.3 k W prototype has been built to verify that the converter can realize ZVS within the whole voltage range, the measured peak efficiency is about 95.2%.