Development of a Modular Inductive Power Transfer System with a Reactive Power Correction for EV Application

Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) is the most available method to transfer the power wireless by loose coupling. Various IPT systems for electric vehicles are either under development or deployed as aftermarket options in the automotive industry. In this work, a series-series compensated inductive power transfer system for electric vehicles is presented and investigated, which allows a power transmission up to 3.7 kW. The drivers of the inverter are completely galvanic insulated from the ac grid side by optocouplers to ensure safety. The temperature measurement is performed by negative temperature coefficient thermistor (NTC) and is galvanic insulated from the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module as well. Each driver of the IGBT's on the primary side is separated from the other ones so that if one driver is damaged, a replacement can easily be installed. The frequency and power control is also integrated and will be shown in this paper. The proposed IPT topology is simple, robust and modular.