Control of Inductive Power Transfer Systems: A Comparison

Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) is a technique used for contactless power transfer from one system to another across a large air gap. The technology had been proposed for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging applications, and over the years the power transfer capability between the loosely coupled systems has improved. In this paper, the two most commonly used methodologies for unidirectional and bidirectional control of IPT systems are compared. Simulation models for each system are developed accounting for their behavior and sensitivity to variations in circuit parameters. The validity of these models is verified and the efficiency of each system is investigated using a 1.4 kW prototype systems. This comprehensive evaluation is expected to be useful when making a decision between control schemes for EV charging application.