Magnetic levitation enables the confinement and melting of conductive metals using alternating magnetic fields, eliminating the need for a crucible or other contact supports. This makes the technology particularly suitable for applications where container use is impractical, such as preventing contamination between the melt and the crucible, handling high-purity materials, or facilitating in-orbit operations. For a given coil design and load, selecting the appropriate feeding parameters, such as the current and frequency, is crucial to ensure the correct operation of the device. This study investigates the optimal current and frequency values required to levitate an aluminum billet using a proposed longitudinal electromagnetic levitator, which represents an initial prototype of a more complex system for automated material manipulation. The analysis was conducted through 2D and 3D finite element method (FEM) simulations, assessing the equilibrium position and stability with respect to translations and rotations under various operating conditions. The study identifies an operating configuration that ensures vertical stability while minimizing excessive heating, in order to obtain a sufficiently long confinement time before the melting point is reached. A fully coupled 2D thermal simulation was then performed to assess the billet’s heating rate under the selected operating conditions. Finally, an experiment was conducted on a prototype to confirm billet levitation.

Ferrite plates are essential elements in wireless power transmission systems. Their presence is critical to achieving adequate magnetic coupling and minimizing the stray magnetic field. At the same time, reducing the volume of ferrite used in the vehicle assembly (VA) offers significant benefits in terms of cost and weight reduction. Topology optimization (TO) methods are particularly effective tools for applications like wireless power transfer (WPT), where the magnetic field is not confined to a well-defined volume, unlike in classical electrical machines. In the present work, the solid isotropic material with penalization (SIMP) method is used to achieve an optimized reduced-volume design of the VA ferrite plate of an SAE-compliant system. The optimized plate was manufactured and its performance was experimentally validated and compared to the original VA. The results show that the fabricated plate is able to maintain a mutual inductance reduction of less than 10% with a 55% reduction in material volume. The impact of the material reduction on the system’s losses was also evaluated, revealing that the proposed solution results in a 3% increase in losses when tested on a 3.4-kW test bench.

Wireless power transfer (WPT) systems offer a promising solution for automating the charging process and extending the mission duration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, the weight of the WPT system's receiving part mounted on the UAV can significantly impact its energy consumption and overall performance. In this regard, the ferrite plate is a critical component. While it is necessary for improving magnetic coupling and reducing the stray magnetic field, it also increases weight. Topology optimization (TO) is an effective tool for addressing this challenge and identifying the most suitable shape for the ferrite plate. In this study, a multi-objective topology optimization (TO) approach based on the solid isotropic material with penalization (SIMP) method is employed to design an optimized ferrite plate for the receiver side of a WPT system for UAV charging. The multi-objective optimization, implemented through a weighted-sum formulation, identifies ferrite configurations that maximize mutual coupling while minimizing material usage. Three representative Pareto-optimal designs are fabricated and experimentally validated against a full-ferrite reference plate. The results show that the reference configuration is a dominated solution in the Pareto sense, as equivalent mutual coupling can be achieved with approximately 40% less ferrite material. The trade-off between the resulting reduction in charging efficiency and the decrease in the required flight power due to ferrite reduction is analyzed, further demonstrating the potential of TO to substantially reduce system weight without compromising overall system performance.

Inductive wireless power transfer (WPT) systems require compensating capacitors to operate efficiently. However, these capacitors can introduce additional costs, weight, and losses, particularly at MHz-range operating frequencies. To mitigate these issues, self-resonant coils can be used by exploiting the parasitic capacitances inherent in double-layer printed circuit boards (PCBs). In this work, a double-layer coil for a self-resonant series WPT system is developed for operation at the AirFuel standard frequency of 6.78 MHz. Unlike conventional design methods adopted for self-resonant coils, mainly based on analytical formulations, the proposed approach employs Finite Element Method simulations that couple electro-quasistatic and magneto-quasistatic formulations. This approach enables accurate evaluation of the self-resonant frequency (SRF) as well as the current distribution along the PCB layers, revealing significant non-uniformity. Building on this insight, copper trace length is reduced to save material while maintaining performance in terms of operating frequency. Both the full-trace and reduced-trace coils are fabricated and tested, showing good agreement with simulations. Notably, the proposed reduction in the copper trace affects the SRF by only 3% compared with the full-trace design.

Ferrite plates are essential elements in wireless power transmission systems. Their presence is critical to achieving adequate magnetic coupling and minimizing stray magnetic field. At the same time, reducing the volume of ferrite used in the vehicle assembly (VA) offers significant benefits in terms of cost and weight reduction. Topology optimization methods are particularly effective tools for applications like Wireless Power Transfer, where the magnetic field is not confined to a well-defined volume, unlike in classical electrical machines. In the present work, the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) methodology is used to achieve an optimized reduced-volume design of the ferrite plate of a SAE-compliant VA that maintains magnetic interoperability with the starting design. The optimized plate was manufactured and its performance was experimentally validated and compared to the original VA. The results show that the fabricated plate is able to maintain a mutual inductance reduction of less than 10% with a 55% reduction in material volume, thus meeting the magnetic interoperability requirements outlined in the SAE J2954 standard. The impact of the material reduction on the system's losses was also evaluated, revealing that the proposed solution results in a 2% increase in losses when tested on a 3.3 kW test bench.