372 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 60, NO.

1, JANUARY 2013

Design Methodology for High Efficient Inductive

Power Transfer Systems With High
Coil Positioning Flexibility
Daniel Kürschner, Member, IEEE, Christian Rathge, and Ulrich Jumar

Abstract—With contactless inductive power transfer (IPT), it R1 Resistance of primary coil (R10 : normalized at one
is possible to transfer electrical energy to stationary or movable turn).
consumers without contacts, cables, or slip rings. To reduce the R2 Resistance of secondary coil (R20 : normalized at one
very high development effort of new contactless inductive energy
supplies, a new systematic and modular design methodology is turn).
presented in the paper. This methodology includes new methods RL Load resistance.
to increase the transfer efficiency and the positioning flexibility u2 HF-output voltage (RMS) of the transformer (sec-
of the consumer device and is particularly implemented into a ondary coil).
simulation software tool. The positioning tolerance is improved uL Load voltage (RMS) after secondary side rectifier and
by the optimization of the coil and ferrite geometry. Thereby, the
influence of physical and geometrical parameters on the magnetic filter.
coupling and on the electrical transfer characteristics is investi- v Lateral coil misalignment (displacement).
gated. As a result of the design methodology, a new IPT system ϕ Phase angle (phase shift).
for household appliances in the output power range of 1 kW at an η Electrical efficiency.
overall efficiency of more than 90% and with a high positioning μr Magnetic relative permeability.
tolerance is presented.
ωR Resonance angular frequency (ωR = 2 · π · fR ).
Index Terms—Bifurcation, consumer electronics, design AGV Automatic guided vehicle.
methodology, inductive charging, inductive power transmission, CET Contactless energy transfer.
magnetic resonance, modeling, numerical analysis, wireless.
EMF Electro magnetic fields.
N OMENCLATURE FEM Finite-element method.
FHA First harmonic approximation.
a Air gap (transfer distance). IPT Inductive power transfer.
B Magnetic flux density.
d Coil diameter.
fR Resonance frequency. I. I NTRODUCTION
k Magnetic coupling factor.
LH
L1σ
Main inductance (LH0 : normalized at one turn).
Primary leakage inductance (L1σ0 : normalized at one
T HE basics of contactless inductive power (energy) trans-
fer (IPT, CET) were already discovered by M. Faraday,
H. C. Oersted and N. Tesla in the 19th century. The law of
turn).
induction by M. Faraday describes the possibility for electrical
L2σ Secondary leakage inductance (L2σ0 : normalized at one
energy transfer not by wire but by a time-varying magnetic
turn).
field. Today, because of new magnetic materials and fast switch-
M Mutual inductance.
ing power electronics and because of new applications that
N Count of windings (turns).
need a wireless energy supply, the IPT technology is commonly
PL Output power (PRL ).
utilized [1]–[3]. Over the last few years, IPT technology has
Q1 Primary coil quality factor.
greatly improved for example in automatic guided vehicle
Q2 Secondary coil quality factor.
(AGV) systems or in automation to supply electrical drives,
QL Normalized load.
sensors, or actuators. Apart from industrial applications, today,
IPT can also be used for household appliances and for battery
Manuscript received January 31, 2011; revised May 5, 2011 and August 9, charging of mobile entertainment (cell phone, music player) or
2011; accepted November 15, 2011. Date of publication December 21, 2011;
date of current version September 6, 2012.
even for the contactless charging of electric vehicles.
D. Kürschner was with the Institut f. Automation und Kommunikation Fig. 1 shows a minimum configuration of an IPT system. The
(IFAK), 39106 Magdeburg, Germany. He is now with the company Paul Vahle, electrical energy is transferred via the magnetic field between
59174 Kamen, Germany (e-mail: daniel.kuerschner@vahle.de).
C. Rathge and U. Jumar are with the Institut f. Automation und Kommunika- the coils. The transfer performance can be increased by using
tion (IFAK), 39106 Magdeburg, Germany (e-mail: christian.rathge@ifak.eu; high transmission frequencies, resonance operation of the coils,
ulrich.jumar@ifak.eu). and special materials like Litz wire and ferrite cores [1]–[3],
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. [6], [7]. Compared to a conventional transformer and because
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIE.2011.2181134 of the high frequencies, special power electronics are needed to
0278-0046/$26.00 © 2011 IEEE
KÜRSCHNER et al.: METHODOLOGY FOR INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSFER SYSTEMS WITH HIGH COIL POSITIONING FLEXIBILITY 373

Fig. 1. Minimum configuration of a voltage fed inductive power transfer system.

feed the primary coil and to convert the electrical energy on the TABLE I
I NPUT AND O UTPUT PARAMETERS AT A S YSTEMATIC D ESIGN
secondary side [2]. At AGV or linear-powered electric vehicles,
several consumers are mostly supplied by one or more primary
conductor loops at a constant current [6]. At a point-to-point
energy transfer (only one receiver), often a primary voltage-fed
inverter with dc link is used.
As shown, compared to a cable-based power supply, IPT
technology results in more complex systems. Because of the
increasing range of applications, a lot of new solutions for
inductive powered devices with very different technical require-
ments (e.g., voltage and power level, transfer distance, installa-
tion size) are needed. As already mentioned in [4], to allow a
high efficient (η > 90%) and safe power transfer, the entire IPT
system has to be designed carefully and systematically for each
of these applications. Thereby, mostly, new concepts or adapted
designs of both, magnetic coil system and power electronics are
needed. Generally, the development is done by extensive exper-
imental analyses and iterative practical redesigns. To reduce the
developmental period and the costs, a new systematic design
methodology for the computer-aided design was developed and
is proposed in the paper. Thereby, the power loss of the IPT
system (efficiency) as well as tolerances caused by incorrect
alignments of the coils (positioning flexibility) or by straying
values of electronic devices are considered by using new nu-
merical models and analytic functions. To apply the developed Fig. 2. T equivalent circuit of an air-gapped transformer with main and
leakage inductances and with winding and core loss resistors.
design methodology, the models are implemented in a new
simulation software tool and validated by an IPT test system.
power level, installation size, or costs. Important requirements
and parameters are shown in Table I. The air gap, straying
II. D ESIGN M ETHODOLOGY capacitor values, or coil misalignments can be both required
values or degrees of freedom.
A. Design Concept and Calculation Modules
In Fig. 3, a proposal for a systematic design methodology of
As the most important component for an efficient IPT, this circular coil systems is shown. Several modular determination
work focuses on the magnetic coil system. For the analysis, steps are executed sequentially and associated by iteration
using the T equivalent circuit is favorable, because the main and paths. To be able to start the parameter determination, an initial
leakage inductances (LH , L1σ , L2σ ) can directly be determined coil geometry is needed (Section II-C). Based on the initial
as a result of the FEM simulation [2]. Compared to a conven- coil geometry and after choosing a proper type of leakage
tional transformer LH and Lxσ are in the same dimension. At inductance compensation strategy (Section II-B), the magnetic
a defined frequency, the power loss of the transformer can be coupling parameters (LH , L1σ , L2σ ) (Fig. 2) can be deter-
considered by the resistances R1 , R2 , and RF e . The transfer mined. In this matter, geometrical tolerances, for example, the
ratio is respected by x∗ = N1 /N2 · x. position of the transmitter and receiver coil to each other (lateral
The system parameters (e.g., coil geometry, windings, fre- misalignments Δv, variable air gaps Δa) can be considered.
quency) have to be determined in compliance with user-defined With all T parameters (LH , L1σ , L2σ , R1 , R2 ), the steady
requirements (performance characteristics), such as voltage and state and the transient electrical transfer behavior can be
374
Fig. 3. Proposal for solution of a systematic and modular design of contactless inductive power transfer systems.
analyzed. At the required output power, the needed windings
and currents (N1 · i1 , N2 · i2 ) can be determined. If no valid
parameters are found, an iteration is necessary, and the coil
geometry or other parameters have to be changed (Fig. 3).
Important aspects of contactless IPT systems are reaching
higher transferable power and smaller installation size and
weight at the same time. This requires the analysis of the power
loss of the entire system. At high transmission frequencies,
power loss increases because of the SKIN- and proximity
effect (increasing winding resistances), hysteresis effects in the
ferrite core, and switching of the power electronic devices. Fur-
thermore, to meet the requirements of a mechanical interface
and ingress protection, often an enclosed metallic housing is
needed. This results in additional eddy current power loss. With
the knowledge of N1 · i1 and N2 · i2 , in the next design step
(Fig. 3), the absolute power loss of the coil system can be
determined [5].
For the calculations, it has to be noticed, that the power
loss also affects all T parameters. As the ohmic parameters
(R1 , R2 ) directly depend on the frequency, the core loss resistor
RF e cannot be dimensioned until the absolute hysteresis loss
is determined. Furthermore, induced eddy currents in metal-
lic housings or in any electrical conductive region affect the
magnetic field distribution around the coil system. This results
in a change of the magnetic coupling parameters. By another
iteration path, all parameters of the T equivalent circuit can be
fitted. In this way, the electrical transfer behavior and finally all
system parameters can be determined more exactly.
By the knowledge of the electrical transfer characteris-
tics, in the same calculation step, the magnetic flux den-
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 60, NO. 1, JANUARY 2013
sity can be determined and evaluated by EMF regulations
[11], [16], [17].
Apart from EMF, the temperature rise of the system compo-
nents is another important limiting factor for the transferable
power of IPT systems. Thereby, the biological impact, melting
temperatures, the thermal stress of power semiconductors, as
well as the curie temperature of ferrite cores must be consid-
ered. Based on the calculated power loss and the coil geometry,
in the next step, the heat-flow analysis gives information about
the temperature rise of the IPT system [5].
As a result of the design process, valid system parameters
are proposed. If the electrical values, the magnetic flux density
or the temperature rise exceed the valid ranges or if no valid
parameters are found, the iteration paths can be used to apply
different kinds of optimization strategies.
B. Leakage Inductance Compensation Strategy
Mostly, IPT systems should work at high transfer distances
and with a high system efficiency. However, high transfer
distances result in a small magnetic coupling. Therefore, and
to improve the efficiency, the large leakage inductances have
to be compensated by capacitors (Fig. 3, step 2). The result-
ing resonance operation allows the supply of reactive power,
a high gain voltage or current transfer ratio and sinusoidal
transformer values. Furthermore, the last ones allow a lossless
switching characteristic of the primary inverter, a favorable
electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and the use of well-
known mathematical modeling methods, such as first harmonic
approximation (FHA) or time harmonic FEM simulation.
KÜRSCHNER et al.: METHODOLOGY FOR INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSFER SYSTEMS WITH HIGH COIL POSITIONING FLEXIBILITY 375

Fig. 4. T equivalent circuit with leakage inductance compensation capacitors.

The electrical transfer behavior of a resonant transformer is

strongly influenced by the type of leakage inductance com-
pensation strategy. Thereby, the resonance capacitors can be Fig. 5. Circular coil system (no core) and field lines at a large air gap (i2 = 0).
placed in series or parallel to the coils (Fig. 4) [14], [15],
and the resultant LC-circuits can be tuned by the capacitor The efficiency analyses is done by using the T equivalent
values in different ways. In previous investigations, good results circuit and the transfer function G(s) = u∗2 /i1 of the secondary
are achieved by the series-parallel-compensation (Fig. 4, C2S parallel-compensated transformer, given in [18]
not implemented) and by tuning the capacitors equal to (1)  ∗ 
RL ·LH
(secondary shorten circuit) and (2) (primary open circuit) u∗2 R2∗ +RL
∗ ·s
= ∗ ∗ ∗   ∗ 
  i1 RL ·C2 ·(L2σ +LH ) L +L +R∗ ·C ∗ ·R∗
  −1 −1 R∗ +R∗ ·s2 + 2σ RH∗ +R2∗ 2 L ·s+1
N12 N2 2 L 2 L
C1S = 2
ωR L1σ + LH L2σ LH + 12 L2σ (3)
N22 N2
(1) (RF e not implemented).
  −1 As a function of RL , there is a maximum of the system
N2 efficiency, which can be fixed as an extreme value. The resultant
C2P = 2
ωR L2σ + 22 LH (2)
N1 conditional equation for the maximum efficiency value η can be
written as a function of all T parameters and of the frequency
and at the same resonance frequency ωR [1]–[3]. [1], [18]. A generalized form can be achieved by using the
For the design of new IPT systems, important transformer quality factors of the coils (Q1 , Q2 ) and the magnetic coupling
values often are the voltage transfer ratio (u2 /u1 ), the currents factor of the coil system k
in the coils (i1 , i2 ), and the phase angle between the primary
ωR (L1σ + LH ) ωR (L1σ0 + LH0 )
voltage and current ϕu1i1 to reduce the switching loss of the Q1 = = (4)
R1 R10
feeding inverter. The mentioned series-parallel-compensation  
N22
allows a load-independent voltage transfer ratio u2 /u1 = const. ωR L2σ + N 2 LH ωR (L2σ0 + LH0 )
1
and a load-independent and zero phase angle ϕu1i1 = 0. The Q2 = = (5)
R2 R20
investigations on 24 different arrangements [18], [19] have
N2 LH
shown that this favorable characteristics can only be reached k= 
by using the above mentioned compensation strategy. N1 (L + L ) L + N 2 N −2 L

1σ H 2σ 2 1 H

LH0
= (6)
C. Preselection of the Circular Coil System Geometry (L1σ0 + LH0 )(L2σ0 + LH0 )
In the third calculation step (Fig. 3), the magnetic coupling instead of the T parameters. The Q-values already include the
parameters can be determined based on a given coil geometry. consideration of the frequency depending winding resistances
Before it, this (initial) coil geometry must be determined and and other loss effects. The Q-values and the magnetic coupling
dimensioned for the required transferable power. The trans- k can also be written independent from the absolute windings.
ferable power can be increased by increasing the input power Therefore, the T parameters must be normalized at one turn
(higher flux), by using higher frequencies (law of induction), by (N = 1) as in
resonance operation, or by a higher magnetic coupling. Apart
from EMC and the electrical stress of any electrical circuit LH0 = N1−2 LH = (N1 N2 )−1 M (7)
element, the transferable power is limited by the absolute power L1σ0 = N1−2 L1σ (8)
loss (dissipated energy) and the resultant thermal stress. To
L2σ0 = N2−2 L2σ (9)
minimize the heat to be dissipated, in the first order (neglecting
power loss of the semiconductors), the coil geometry should be R10 = N1−2 R1 (10)
optimized for maximum system efficiency. Therefore, and in R20 = N2−2 R2 . (11)
this work, a coil system with circular coils, which is character-
ized by the coil diameter d and the transmission distance a, is In this way, the coil system is characterized by geomet-
considered (Fig. 5). rical and material properties only. At identical primary and
376 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 60, NO. 1, JANUARY 2013
Fig. 6. Maximum efficiency η as a function of the ratio of air gap and coil
diameter a/d as given by equation (13).
secondary coil (equal leakage inductances: L1σ0 = L2σ0 =
Lxσ0 ), the magnetic coupling factor k simplifies to
1 the investigated air gaps should be smaller than a quarter of the
k= . (12)
1 + Lxσ0 (LH0 )−1
All inductances, accordingly k, relate of the air gap and coil
diameter ratio a/d and can be determined by the FEM simula-
tion [2]. The best magnetic coupling is achieved at the same size
of the transmitter and receiver coils and by using ferrite cores.
The larger the coil diameter or the smaller the air gap, the higher
the magnetic coupling k. At IPT systems, typical values are
between k = 0 . . . 0.5. At high frequencies, own studies have
shown that the quality factor of the transmitter and receiver
structures (incl. ferrite cores, Litz wired coils, and Aluminium
plates) have values up to Q = 250 that can be realized. The
maximum efficiency η (at the resonance frequency ωR ) is a
function of Q1 , Q2 , and k only and can be written as
k 2 Q1 Q2
η=   
2+k 2 Q1 Q2 +
Q22 +k2 Q1 Q2 1 2 (Q22+k2 Q1 )
2 imize the copper loss and the EMF in the vicinity of the coils, at
1+k2 Q1 Q2 Q2 +k Q1 + Q +k Q1 Q2
2 a = 10 mm, the best winding ratio is approximately N1 = 32
1+k2 Q1 Q2
(13)
(assumption: RL  R1 and RL  R2 ). The full mathematical
description is given in [18].
Evidently, an important mathematical term is k · Q1 · Q2 .
This means that low quality factors can be compensated by a
high magnetic coupling and vice versa. In Fig. 6 the magnetic
coupling factor and the maximum efficiency is shown as a func-
tion of the quality factors (Q1 , Q2 ) and the ratio between the
air gap and the coil diameter a/d. The coupling decreases with
lower coil diameter and larger air gap. The efficiency decreases
significantly at lower coupling and at lower Q-values. Assum-
ing Q = 100, efficiencies greater than η > 80% can only be
obtained if the air gap is smaller than a half of the coil diameter
(a/d < 0.5). Otherwise, the requirement of η > 90% correlates
with the geometrical precondition a/d < 0.25. At very large air
gaps (a/d > 1), the efficiency decreases significantly even at
very high Q-values, which allows only a low power or a lower
duty cycle operation. Today, this lower efficiency operation
often is used at IPT systems with multistage coils (also called
“High-Q” or “Magnetic resonant coupling”), for example at
[21], [22].
It was shown that the efficiency of the inductive transformer
depends on geometrical and material properties of the coil
system. As a result, the (13) can also be used for the design
methodology to determine an initial coil geometry and to keep
a required efficiency (Table I).
D. Implementation
The presented design methodology (Fig. 3) was particularly
implemented into a simulation software tool. This tool was used
to design an IPT system in the power range of 1 kW. The
system requirements and parameter ranges (coil design, power
and voltage level, tolerances, and coil misalignment ranges) are
defined by the user. In Fig. 7(a), for example, the input mask for
the core geometry is shown. Here, commercially availably pot
cores with a diameter of d = 70 mm are chosen. Based on the
results of Section II-C, to allow an efficiency greater than 90%,
coil diameter (d < 17.5 mm).
With the given coil properties, the tool at first determines
the T parameters for the predefined air gap range [Fig. 7(b)].
At large air gaps and when using ferrite materials (here: μr =
6600), the determination of the coupling parameters by using
the FEM simulation is favorable [2], [3]. Therefore, COMSOL
Multiphysics, ANSYS and FEMM [20] are used.
In the next step, the FEM modules are linked with modules
to calculate the electrical transfer characteristics. Assuming si-
nusoidal transformer values, therefore the FHA is used. Exam-
ple: Based on the required electrical characteristics and limits
(P2 = 1 kW, u2 = 270 V, Nx ix < 250 A) and by using simple
parameter variation algorithms, Fig. 7(c) shows calculation
results (f = 100 kHz, series-parallel-compensation) for N1 , N2
and for electrical circuit parameters (i1 , i2 , η).
To minimize the current in the coils and consequently to min-
and N2 = 16 [Fig. 7(c)]. At the considered system and based on
further power loss analyses (core loss, eddy current loss), the
best air gap was also determined to 10 mm. For the core loss
analyses [5], the Steinmetz parameter of the material SiFerrit
N27 are loaded from the library [Fig. 7(a)]. At smaller air gaps,
the core loss increases rapidly, and high coil current harmonics
appear. At higher air gaps, the lower magnetic coupling result
in higher Nx ix and in increasing copper loss.
Aside from the mentioned modules, also additional calcula-
tion modules for tolerances [3], EMF [3], and thermal stress
analyses [5] are already developed and implemented as stand-
alone solutions. So far, some of the modules as well as the
iteration paths (optimization) have to be activated by the user
manually. Coupling the standalone calculation modules with
the existing software tool is a very important task for future
work. With this, the design methodology as shown in Fig. 3 can
be applied at its full functionality.
III. IPT S YSTEM W ITH H IGH P OSITIONING F LEXIBILITY
Based on the presented design methodology, a transmission
system for home appliances with the following requirements
KÜRSCHNER et al.: METHODOLOGY FOR INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSFER SYSTEMS WITH HIGH COIL POSITIONING FLEXIBILITY
Fig. 7. Simulation software tool. (a) Input mask for the system require-
ments and parameter ranges. (b) Evaluation results (FEM) of the T parame-
ters (LH0 , L1σ0 , L2σ0 , R10 , R20 ). (c) Evaluation results (FHA) of possible
windings (N1 , N2 ) and electrical quantities.
(performance characteristics) was developed: The output power
of PL = 1 kW should be transferred to the load device at an
overall efficiency of η > 90% and over a distance of 10. . .
30 mm (tabletop). The coil diameter is limited to 130 mm,
and the positioning flexibility should be at least 30 mm in
any lateral direction. In the previous chapter, for the initial
coil geometry with EPCOS P70 P core halves (d = 70, in
the following denoted as P core70), the optimum air gap
(a = 10 mm) and the windings (N1 = 32, N2 = 16) were
determined by the software tool. In the next step, the coil
geometry has to be optimized to allow the required positioning
flexibility of the coils (not yet implemented in the software
tool).
Different approaches for this problem are described in pre-
vious investigations. In [8], the ferrite cores were split into
angular segments. However, with this option, the change of the
magnetic coupling depends on the lateral direction of misalign-
377
ment. In [6], [7], the tolerance of lateral misalignments of the
receiver coil (roadway e-vehicle pickups) is improved by using
a multiphase primary conductor [6] or by using an optimized
design for the pickups and the windings [7]. In [9], the posi-
tioning dependence of the magnetic coupling is minimized by
using a matrix of primary coils. The last mentioned options let
the complexity and the costs of the system increase. At circular
coil arrangements, in [3], the optimization of the coils (size and
position of the windings, ferrite cores) has been shown as a
proper solution and is applied here.
A. Optimization of the Coil Geometry
As shown in Section II-C, an energy transfer of 1 kW with
P core halves (d = 70 mm) should be realized at an air gap
of 10 mm. However, for the desired household application, it
is necessary to be able to realize higher air gaps. As shown
in Fig. 6, at a defined efficiency, the air gap is related to the
coil diameter. For this reason, different coil arrangements with
higher diameter have been investigated. Thereby, the winding
space (copper cross-section area) and the coil weight of the
investigated arrangements are fixed at constant values.
To be able to compare different coil arrangements and their
characteristics at misalignments, the influence of the ferrite
geometry on the magnetic coupling must be normalized. There-
fore, the following approach is used: For every circular coil
geometry, it is possible to determine a nominal air gap aN .
At this air gaps aN , the percentage change of the magnetic
coupling at air gap changes is identical for all systems.
The best results are obtained with flat coils, in the following
denoted as F lat130(dinner = 40 mm, douter = 130 mm). At
the considered arrangements P core70 and F lat130, the ratio
of the nominal air gaps is approx aN,F lat130 /aN,P core70 ≈ 3.
Thus, to keep the required efficiency (Fig. 6), the ab-
solute air gaps were determined to aP core70 = 10 mm and
aF lat130 = 30 mm. The simulation results (ANSYS) in Fig. 8
show the flux lines (vector potential A) of the arrange-
ments P core70 and F lat130 at a lateral misalignment of the
coils v.
For the ferrite cores, the relative permeability can be assumed
with μr = 6600 (P core70: EPCOS SiFerrit N27; F lat130:
TRIDELTA Manifer 198). The primary and the secondary cop-
per winding is modeled by a circular ring (N = 1). As a result
of the field distribution, the main and the leakage inductances
of the air-gapped transformer are determined. Therefore, the
primary (lower) coil is fed by a current of 1 A. As shown in
Fig. 9, at the nominal coil position, LH0 and Lxσ0 are in a
similar dimension. However, at a lateral coil misalignment, the
arrangement F lat130 shows a less sensitive change of LH0 and
Lxσ0 . Thereby, at misalignments, the sum of LH0 and Lxσ0
(that means the self inductances of the coils) are nearly constant
at both arrangements.
B. Electrical Transfer Characteristics at Misalignments
Based on Section III-A, the electrical transfer characteristic
is analyzed. To let the results be independent of the windings,
378 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 60, NO. 1, JANUARY 2013

Fig. 10. Measurement and simulation of the voltage transfer ratio u2 /u1 of
the coil arrangement P core70 as a function of the coil misalignment Δv and
the load QL .

Fig. 10 shows the calculation and measurement results

of the voltage transfer ratio u2 /u1 of the coil arrange-
ment P core70 at a lateral misalignment up to v = 20 mm
(C1 = 52.0 nF, C2 = 41.9 nF, N1 = N2 = 20, fR = 100 kHz,
R1 = R2 = 180 mΩ, RL = {200; 50; 15} Ω corresponds to
QL = {0.18; 0.72; 2.43}). At nominal coil position (v = 0),
u2 /u1 is independent of the load QL . At higher misalignment,
the voltage transfer ratio u2 /u1 is very sensitive because of the
detuned resonance and depends on both, coil misalignment and
load. This is a typical behavior of the series-parallel resonance
operation and occurs in a similar way at variable air gaps or at
a variable inverter frequency. A nearly constant ratio of u2 /u1
at misalignments can be obtained at QL ≈ 1. If also the load is
variable, additional control techniques must be applied. Thus,
the proper dimension of the windings (N1 /N2 = const.) or the
load resistor are useful degrees of freedom for the optimization.

Fig. 8. Simulation result (section plane) of the circular coils P core70 at a =

v = 10 mm (top) and F lat130 at a = v = 30 mm (bottom). C. Electrical Transfer Characteristics at Changes of the
Compensation Capacitor Values
Using the design methodology, the developed numerical
models and the FHA analyses, the combined tolerance of
geometric parameters (Δa, Δv) and the capacitor values can
be investigated. The example in Fig. 11 shows the influence
of the capacitor values on the voltage transfer ratio u2 /u1
at a lateral coil misalignment up to v = 60 mm (assembly
F lat130). In Fig. 11 (top) the primary series capacitor value
C1S (QL = 1) is varied and the secondary capacitor C2P is at
nominal value. The ratio u2 /u1 depends on both, the capacitor
value (even at nominal position v = 0) and the lateral coil
alignment. The higher the tolerance value of C1S the higher the
variance of u2 /u1 . In Fig. 11 (bottom), the secondary capacitor
Fig. 9. Simulated (lines) and measured (symbols) magnetic coupling parame- C2P is varied (C1S at nominal value). The influence of C2P
ters (inductances at one turn N = 1) of the coil arrangements P core70 and at lateral misalignment is quite small. Considering the voltage
F lat130 at a lateral coil misalignment v. transfer ratio only and at a nominal allowed range of u2 /u1
of ±25%, the allowed alignment is limited by C1S to vmax ≈
the load is written with the quality factor QL (ωR = 2πfR ) 24 mm at ΔC1S,max = ±10% or limited to vmax ≈ 33 mm
 −1 at ΔC1S,max = ±5%. Thus, the allowed positioning flexibility
N12 can be determined during the design process by the definition of
QL = ωR (L1σ + LH ) RL
N22 permissible tolerance ranges of electrical and capacitor values.
However, apart from the voltage transfer ratio, many further
= ωR N22 (L1σ0 + LH0 )(RL )−1 . (14) electrical parameters like coil currents, capacitor voltages, or
KÜRSCHNER et al.: METHODOLOGY FOR INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSFER SYSTEMS WITH HIGH COIL POSITIONING FLEXIBILITY
Fig. 11. Voltage transfer ratio (u2 /u1 ) at lateral misalignment v and at a
variable primary capacitor C1S (top) and at a variable secondary capacitor C2P
(bottom) (coil arrangement F lat130, QL = 1).
the phase shift ϕu1i1 must be considered to enable a safe
operation. In summary, a higher coil positioning flexibility is
obtained by using flat coils with a high coil diameter and a large
air gap, by using well-tuned capacitors with a small tolerance
and by ensuring constant load conditions.
D. Test System for Household Appliances
Fig. 12 shows a developed IPT system for the wire and plu-
gless supply of consumer devices on a tabletop. As a result of
the proposed design methodology (Sections II-D and III-C), the
coil system was assembled with flat ferrite cores (d = 130 mm,
a = 30 mm, N1 = 32, N2 = 16, Litz wire: 735 × 71 μm).
The primary power electronics are realized by a voltage-
fed (dc linked) half-bridge inverter with discrete IGBTs at
100 kHz switching frequency (off-time: 600 ns). On the sec-
ondary side, a full-bridge HF-rectifier, a dc link, and an addi-
tional inverter are used to allow supplying any dc or ac load
(50/60 Hz). The secondary coil, the dc link, and the power
electronics, as well as additional control and communication
modules, are integrated into the consumer device. The last
mentioned modules should ensure a stabilized output voltage
and a safe operation (consumer detection and identification).
These are very important for nearly all IPT systems used in
nonindustrial applications, for example also at e-vehicle charg-
ing systems.
The IPT system in Fig. 12 is optimized for constant real
power (e.g., toaster, kettle, coffee maker, lamps, electronic
devices). Fig. 13 (top) shows the measured primary voltage u1
and current i1 at v = 0 and at nominal load (QL ≈ 1).
379
Fig. 12. IPT system to supply consumer electronics with high positioning
flexibility. The system includes feeding inverter, resonance capacitors, magnetic
assembly with flat coils, heat sink module and up to two consumer modules
(2× 1 kW), each with double ac output (1 × 1 kW or 2 × 500 W).
The current i1 is sinusoidal (low harmonics) to enable zero
current switching operation (reduce switching loss and EMI).
By using small dc link capacitors on the primary and the
secondary side, the load voltage uL is not constant, but variable
(sinusoidal half-waves). As an alternative to [12], [13], in this
case, supplying the ac (50/60 Hz) consumer with a half-wave
switching matrix converter is possible and favorable [10]. Ac-
cording to the results of the proposed design methodology and
Section III, the allowed positioning tolerance of the system is
v ≈ 30 mm in all lateral directions. The overall efficiency of the
system (incl. feeding inverter, magnetic system, and secondary
power electronics) is η = 87 . . . 92%, and the output voltage is
uL = 115 VRMS (±10%), depending on the alignment of the
consumer device (misalignment of the coils).
Investigations on the EMF have shown that the magnetic
flux density always dominates in the vicinity of the windings
(copper wire) and the ferrite layer and falls below the limits
[16], [17] at a probe distance from the coils of approximately
10 cm. For human safety, the housing can be used to cover the
high flux region.
Despite the limitations of the proposed design methodol-
ogy and the implemented simulation tool, both have pro-
vided and speeded up the development of the presented
380
Fig. 13. Measured output voltage u1 and current i1 of the primary inverter
(top), load voltage uL at 1 kW and at idling (bottom).
inductive-powered household application. In particular, the op-
timum coil geometry and the copper windings have been deter-
mined to keep the system requirements (P2 = 1 kW, η > 90%,
d ≤ 130 mm, a ≤ 30 mm), to improve the coil positioning
flexibility and to keep the EMF limits. The presented series-
parallel leakage inductance compensation strategy allows a
load-independent voltage transfer ratio and a zero phase angle
between the primary current and voltage, which enables a loss-
less resonant switching operation.
IV. C ONCLUSION AND O UTLOOK
The transfer characteristics of IPT systems can be improved
by using high frequencies, ferrite cores, and resonant operation
of the coils. This allows the complexity of the system to
increase. Therefore, the design of any new IPT system needs
at least the consideration of special power loss (efficiency),
tolerances (coil positioning flexibility, straying capacitor val-
ues), and EMF. To reduce the developmental period and the
costs, a new systematic design methodology for IPT systems
is proposed. Thereby, the most significant aspects of the coil
system were modeled by the T equivalent circuit and by the
FEM simulation. As an important part of the design methodol-
ogy, an analytical expression to find an initial coil geometry for
the design and optimization process has been derived. For the
computer-aided design, some parts of the methodology were
already implemented into a simulation software tool, which is
also presented in the paper. The proposed design methodology
and the developed models are used to develop an IPT system
supplying household appliances with an output power of 1 kW
per module and at an overall efficiency of 90%. As another
important system requirement, the transmitter and receiver coil
positioning flexibility was improved to 30 mm in any lateral di-
rection by the optimization of the coil and ferrite core geometry.
In the next step, models for heat-flow analyses (thermal
stress), tolerances, and EMF as well as the proposed iteration
(optimization) paths have to be implemented in the software
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 60, NO. 1, JANUARY 2013
tool. Thereby, other approaches than the FHA-analysis or the
time-harmonic FEM simulation should be necessary to be able
to consider nonsinusoidal electrical transformer values. Tasks
for the extension of the design methodology are the consid-
eration of linear coil geometries, power electronic topologies
and devices, and voltage control systems. In future and not
least for the wire and plugless inductive charging of e-vehicles,
the design of an IPT system should also include concepts for
a combined inductive energy and data transfer, a bidirectional
energy transfer, and for lossless, cost-saving, and lightweight
magnetic materials.
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Daniel Kürschner (M’11) received the Diploma
and the Doctor Engineer degrees in electrical en-
gineering from the Otto-von-Guericke-University of
Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany, in 2005 and
2009, respectively.
Between 2005 and 2011, he was a Research As-
sistant at the Department of Wireless Power Trans-
mission, Institut f. Automation und Kommunikation
(ifak), Magdeburg, Germany. He has published more
than 20 papers in the field of power electronics, mod-
eling and EMC of inductive power transfer systems.
In addition to IEEE, he is a member of several standardisation activities in the
VDE and DKE committees in Germany. Since 2011, he has been working
for the company “Paul Vahle,” Kamen, Germany, which has been active in
inductive power transfer systems since the early 1990s. His research and
consulting interests include power electronics, electromagnetic compatibility
and simulation methods for contactless IPT, particularly for inductive charging
of electric vehicles.
381
Christian Rathge received the Diploma degree in
electrical engineering from the University of Ap-
plied Sciences Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany, in
2001. He is currently working the Ph.D. degree.
Since 2002, he has been a Research Assistant
at the Institut f. Automation und Kommunikation
(ifak), Magdeburg, Germany. He has published more
than 20 papers and has a number of patent appli-
cations in the field of inductive power and data
transmission. His research interests include power
electronics and inductive power and data transfer.
Ulrich Jumar studied Technical Cybernetics and
Electrical Engineering and received the Doctor Engi-
neer degree from the Otto-von-Guericke-University
of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany, in 1986.
After teaching and research activities at this uni-
versity and a research stay at the King’s College,
University of London, London, U.K., he was one
of the founders of the Institut f. Automation und
Kommunikation (ifak), Magdeburg, Germany. He
has been Chairman of the executive board and Head
of the institute since 2005. At the same time, he is a
Professor for process automation at the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magde-
burg. His specialist research areas are mathematical modeling and simulation,
computerized automation systems, and Intelligent Transport Systems.
Dr. Jumar is a Vice Chair of the Technical Committees “Computers for
Control” and “Telematics—Control via Communication Networks” of the IFAC
International Federation of Automatic Control.