PhD Defence by Jiasheng Huang

Abstract

Integrating wireless power transfer (WPT) techniques into daily life, such as charging smartphones and wearable electronics, can offer several benefits by enhancing convenience, efficiency, and the overall user experience. However, the misalignment between the wireless charging pad and the target device can decrease charging power and efficiency, potentially causing charging failures. Therefore, the primary aim of this project is to improve the misalignment tolerance of WPT systems and achieve a robust charging solution.

The challenge in realizing robust WPT systems lies in the design of energy couplers, specifically inductive couplers for inductive power transfer (IPT) systems and capacitive couplers for capacitive power transfer (CPT) systems. This PhD project focuses particularly on designing novel energy couplers, establishing their mathematical models, and optimizing their parameters to enhance the misalignment tolerance and efficiency of WPT systems. Additionally, a control strategy is investigated and implemented in this project. Through the combination of novel energy couplers and advanced control, highly efficient and misalignment tolerant WPT systems are achieved.

The proposed WPT systems enable a free-positioning feature (100% misalignment tolerance), meaning that devices can be placed anywhere within the charging pad, and receiving power remains constant independent of position, greatly improving convenience and user experience. The solutions are designed for charging low-power consumer electronics and industrial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and can also be extended to wireless charging for electrical vehicles (EVs).

Supervisors

• Principal supervisor: Professor Michael A. E. Andersen, DTU Electro, Denmark
• Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Ouyang, DTU Electro, Denmark

Assessment committee

• Professor Per Lynggaard, DTU Electro, Denmark (chair)
• Professor Chris Mi, San Diego State University, USA
• Professor Kent Bertilsson, Mid Sweden University, Sweden

Master of the ceremony

• Associate Professor Arnold Knott