Design considerations for electromagnetic couplers in contactless power transmission systems for deep-sea applications

In underwater applications of contactless power transmission(CLPT) systems,high pressure and noncoaxial operations will change the parameters of electromagnetic(EM) couplers.As a result,the system will divert from its optimum performance.Using a reluctance modeling method,we investigated the gap effects on the EM coupler in deep-sea environment.Calculations and measurements were performed to analyze the influence of high pressure and noncoaxial alignments on the coupler.It was shown that it is useful to set a relatively large gap between cores to reduce the influence of pressure.Experiments were carried out to verify the transferring capacity of the designed coupler and system for a fixed frequency.The results showed that an EM coupler with a large gap can serve a stable and efficient power transmission for the CLPT system.The designed system can transfer more than 400 W electrical power with a 2-mm gap in the EM coupler,and the efficiency was up to 90% coaxially and 87% non-coaxially in 40 MPa salt water.Finally,a mechanical layout of a 400 W EM coupler for the underwater application in 4000-m deep sea was proposed.