Under Seawater Capacitive Power Transfer for Maritime Charging Applications

Abstract

Underwater capacitive power transfer (CPT) can provide an inexpensive and light electric charging solution with good misalignment tolerance for unmanned maritime vehicles. This paper investigates the effect of the changing of the frequency and the distance on the power transfer and overall efficiency of the underwater CPT system, considering the dielectric losses of the medium. It also proposes and validates a mathematical model for calculating the maximum available efficiency of the system. Using series compensations, the proposed CPT can transfer 48 W at 500 mm, 48 V input voltage, 516 kHz, and 54%.