Low-Power Inductive Wireless Power Transfer
This demonstrator investigates inductive wireless power transfer (IPT) for a low-power industrial application. The system was developed for Bekaert to investigate wireless energy transfer across a relatively large air gap under restricted coil dimensions.
At a glance
Experimental IPT system designed for low-power wireless energy transfer under challenging mechanical and coupling conditions.
- Technology: Inductive Power Transfer (IPT)
- Industrial partner: Bekaert
- Operating frequency: 6.78 MHz
- Transfer distance: 63 mm
- Transmitter coil: 4.8 µH
- Receiver coil: 4.8 µH
- Inverter: Differential Class-E
System overview
The demonstrator operates at 6.78 MHz and uses a differential Class-E inverter to supply the transmitter coil. Resonant compensation and impedance matching are used on the transmitter and receiver sides to improve power transfer across the 63 mm air gap.
Coil design
The transmitter and receiver were designed around approximately 4.8 µH inductance using Litz wire. The compact receiver geometry was constrained by the available space in the industrial application.
Experimental performance
The experimental system demonstrated approximately 4.4 W directly at the receiver to 50 Ω load.
Industrial relevance
The demonstrator investigates the feasibility of supplying low-power electronics wirelessly in an industrial environment where conventional wired connections are difficult to implement.