Underwater Wireless Charging System of Unmanned Surface Vehicles with High Power, Large Misalignment Tolerance and Light Weight: Analysis, Design and Optimization

Songyan Niu, Qingyu Zhao, Haibiao Chen, Hang Yu, Shuangxia Niu and Linni Jian ()
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Songyan Niu: Southern University of Science and Technology Jiaxing Research Institute, Jiaxing 314000, China
Qingyu Zhao: Southern University of Science and Technology Jiaxing Research Institute, Jiaxing 314000, China
Haibiao Chen: Southern University of Science and Technology Jiaxing Research Institute, Jiaxing 314000, China
Hang Yu: Southern University of Science and Technology Jiaxing Research Institute, Jiaxing 314000, China
Shuangxia Niu: Department of Electrical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Linni Jian: Southern University of Science and Technology Jiaxing Research Institute, Jiaxing 314000, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: Wireless charging systems (WCSs) are considered very appropriate to recharge underwater surface vehicles (USVs) due to their safe, flexible, and cost-effective characteristics. The small depth of immersion of USVs allows a WCS operated at an mm-level distance using a dock. Resultant tight coupling between the transmitter and receiver is conducive to high power, yet faces a challenge to alleviating misalignment sensitivity. In addition, considering USVs’ endurance, the weight of a WCS should be strictly limited. In this paper, a 6.0 kW underwater WCS is analyzed, designed, and optimized, which achieves a good balance of power capacity, misalignment tolerance, and onboard weight. A multi-receiving-coil structure is employed, which is crucial to large misalignment tolerance. On this basis, two types of coils adapting the hull shape of USV, viz., curved and quasi-curved coils, are devised and compared in case the hydrodynamic performance of USV is degraded. Finally, the weight of receiver is effectively reduced using bar-shaped ferrite without sacrificing the power capacity of WCSs. The results indicate a merely 8.73% drop in coupling coefficient with misalignment ranging from 0 to 100 mm. Moreover, ferrite use is reduced by 40.48 kg compared to a ferrite sheet, which accounts for 50.28% weight of the receiver.

Keywords: wireless power transmission; inductive power transmission; underwater vehicle; coils; magnetic coupler; misalignment; lightweight design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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