Underwater Wireless Power Transfer for Ocean System Applications

The field of wireless power transfer (WPT) has been revitalized since the development of resonant induction technique. Recent research has covered new areas for WPT system in air. However, for WPT in the ocean environment, it is still very much in the research portion of its development. The stochastic nature of the ocean makes transferring power wirelessly very difficult to achieve. This paper investigates and overcomes some of the difficulties that wireless power transfer faces in a salt water environment. The results show that proper coil winding and the addition of resonator circuits increase transmission efficiency. Since the properties of the coils contribute to the efficiency of the WPT system, a detailed study of the system is analyzed to determine the self-inductance, capacitance, parasitic resistance, and the best coil shape.