Inductive power transfer (IPT) is an optimal way for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) wireless charging. The magnetic coupler is the key component in the IPT system, which determines the power transmission capacity and efficiency in IPT system. Due to the particularity of UAV application, the magnetic field height should be strictly limited to avoid the damage caused by high frequency magnetic field heat the UAV's metal equipment. A cross-type magnetic coupler with receiving coil placed on UAV's one landing gear was proposed to solve this problem, but it has the possibility of making UAV fuselage imbalance. Therefore, a novel cross-type magnetic coupler is proposed to overcome its difficulties in this paper, and most of magnetic fields are restrained to be lower than UAV's landing gear height h 1 = 145mm, which will not cause damage to the UAV's equipment. And a simple and practical iterative method for designing the magnetic coupler geometry parameters is proposed, with simplification of the complex design process for the finite element analysis, improves the design efficiency. The experimental results show that the system can charge the 260W UAV normally with the system efficiency of 91.577% within the misalignment range of X-axis direction 25mm, Y-axis direction 40mm and rotation 25 •. INDEX TERMS Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), inductive power transfer (IPT), cross-type magnetic resonant coupling, magnetic circuit model, coupler geometry parameter design.
Inductive power transfer is a practical approach to recharging the autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The performance of the magnetic coupler determines the system transfer capacity. The annular magnetic coupler is widely utilized in the underwater wireless charging system. However, this magnetic coupler has limitations on magnetic field distribution. The flux linkage occupies the center of the AUV, and hence, the electronics inside the AUV are susceptible to electromagnetic interference. Additionally, the weight of the annular magnetic coupler greatly increases the burden on AUV power supply. In this paper, the magnetic coupler structure evolution is analyzed and a dipole-coil-based magnetic coupler with a novel circumferential coupling manner is presented. The magnetic flux is perfectly confined by the coupling manner, and the magnetic coupler weight is reduced by dimension optimization. To implement the magnetic coupler, the Fe-based nanocrystalline soft magnetic material is taken into consideration. To validate the proposal, a wireless charging system is built. Experimental results show that the system transfers 630W under water with a DC-DC efficiency of 89.7%. INDEX TERMS Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), inductive power transfer (IPT), magnetic coupler design, coupling manner.
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