Wireless Electricity

By: Arnab Biswas (08) Debapam Das (16)

What is wireless electricity?

Electricity without wires

Magnetic loop antennas

Electromagnetic field.

History of Wireless Power :

In 1899, Sir Nikola Tesla Proposed a method of Wireless Power Transmission. His vision for World Wireless System was a 187 feet tall tower to broadcast energy

Due to shortage of funds, tower did not operate

Types and Technologies :

Near-field techniques o Inductive Coupling o Resonant Inductive Coupling o Air Ionization Far-field techniques o Microwave Power Transmission (MPT) o LASER power transmission

 Inductive coupling :
Primary and secondary coils are not connected with wires. Energy transfer is due to Mutual Induction

 Inductive coupling (contd)

Energy transfer devices are usually air-cored

Wireless Charging Pad(WCP),electric brushes are some examples

On a WCP, the devices are to be kept, battery will be automatically charged.

 Resonance Inductive Coupling (RIC)

Combination of inductive coupling and resonance Resonance makes two objects interact very strongly Inductance induces current

How RIC works?

Coil provides the inductance Capacitor is connected parallel to the coil Energy will be shifting back and forth between magnetic field surrounding the coil and electric field around the capacitor Radiation loss will be negligible

 Air Ionization :
Toughest technique under near-field energy transfer techniques Air ionizes only when there is a high field Needed field is 2.11MV/m Natural example: Lightening Not feasible for practical implementation

Advantages of near-field techniques

No e-waste Need for battery is eliminated Efficient energy transfer using RIC Harmless, if field strengths under safety levels Maintenance cost is less

Disadvantages :
Distance constraint

Field strengths have to be under safety levels

Initial cost is high In RIC, tuning is difficult

High frequency signals must be the supply

Air ionization technique is not feasible

Far-field energy transfer :

o Radiative

o Needs line-of-sight
o LASER or microwave

o Aims at high power transfer

 Microwave Power Transfer (MPT)

Transfers high power from one place to another. Two places being in line of sight usually

Steps:
Electrical energy to microwave energy Capturing microwaves using rectenna Microwave energy to electrical energy

MPT Process (contd)

AC can not be directly converted to microwave energy AC is converted to DC first DC is converted to microwaves using magnetron Transmitted waves are received at rectenna which rectifies, giving DC output DC is then converted back to AC

 LASER transmission :
LASER is highly directional, coherent Not dispersed for very long But, gets attenuated when it propagates through atmosphere Simple receiver Photovoltaic cell Cost-efficient

Advantages of far-field techniques :

Easy and Efficient Low maintenance cost Need for grids, substations etc are eliminated More effective when the transmitting and receiving points are along a line-of-sight Can reach the places which are remote

Disadvantages :
Radiative Needs line-of-sight Initial cost is high When LASERs are used,

conversion is inefficient
Absorption loss is high When microwaves are used,

interference may arise

FRIED BIRD effect

Applications :
Near-field energy transfer
Electric automobile charging
Static and moving

Consumer electronics Industrial purposes

Harsh environment

Far-field energy transfer

Solar Power Satellites Energy to remote areas Can broadcast energy globally (in future)

 Solar Power Satellites (SPS) :

1968s idea for Solar Power Satellites proposed by Peter Glaser Would use microwaves to transmit power to Earth from Solar Powered Satellites Idea gained momentum during the Oil Crisis of 1970s, but after prices stabilized, this idea was dropped

 Solar Power Satellites (contd..) :

Solar energy is captured using photocells Each SPS may have 400 million photocells Transmitted to earth in the form of microwaves/LASER Using rectenna/photovoltaic cell, the energy is converted to electrical energy Efficiency exceeds 95% if microwave is used.

Problems :
Issues identified during the DOE study Complexity30 years to complete

Size6.5 miles long by 3.3 miles wide

Transmitting antenna mile in diameter(1 km) Costprototype would have cost $74 billion Microwave transmission Interference with other electronic devices Health and environmental effects

Witricity Today :

A group of engineers at MIT came up with the idea to use resonant induction to transmit power wirelessly. MIT powered 60 watt light bulb from 2 meters (7 ft) at 40% efficiency MIT researchers working on improving the technology

Wireless Electricity Tomorrow :

Power from mains to antenna, which is made of copper Resonates 10MHz (electromagnetic waves) Tunnel up to 2m (6.5ft) Electricity received by antenna, also resonating at 10MHz. Energy not transferred will be re-absorbed by source antenna. People/other objects not affected as not resonating at 10MHz

What is wireless electricity?

Electricity without wires Magnetic loop antennas Electromagnetic near-field.

Future IN OUR DREAM WORLD

Current Developments :
SPS 2000:
Project in Development in Japan Goal is to build a low cost demonstration model by 2025 8 Countries along the equator have agreed to be the site of a rectenna

Current Developments :
Power to Mobile Devices
If microwave beams carrying power could be beamed uniformly over the earth they could power cell phones
Biggest problem is that the antenna would have to be 25-30 cm square

Other projects :
Alaska21

Grand Bassin

Hawaii

Legal Issues :
Who will oversee? Environmental Concerns International

 NASA :
Funding the research In charge of space flight for the United States Would be launching the satellites and doing maintenance

FCC :
The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable.

NASA Fresh Look Report

SPS could be competitive with other energy sources and deserves further study Research aimed at an SPS system of 250 MW Would cost around $10 billion and take 20 years National Research Council found the research worthwhile but under funded to achieve its goals

NASA Report (contd..)

Specification :
Collector area must be between 50 (19 sq miles) and 150 square kilometers (57 sq miles) 50 Tons of material Current rates on the Space Shuttle run between $3500 and $5000 per pound 50 tons (112,000lbs)=$392,000,000

NASA Report (contd..)

Advantages :
Possible power generation of 5 to 10 gigawatts If the largest conceivable space power station were built and operated 24 hours a day all year round, it could produce the equivalent output of ten 1 million kilowatt-class nuclear power stations.

 Environmental Effects :
Possible health hazards Effects of long term exposure Exposure is equal to the amount that people receive from cell phones and microwaves Location The size of construction for the rectenna is massive about 1.5 mile long.

International Effects :
Geosynchronous satellites would take up large sections of space Interference with communication satellites Low orbit satellites would require agreements about rectenna locations and flight paths

Conclusion :
Transmission without wires- a reality

Efficient transfer method

Low maintenance cost. But, high initial cost Better than conventional wired transfer

Energy crisis can be decreased

Low loss incurred In near future, world will be completely wireless.