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Design and analysis of an underwater inductive coupling power transfer system for autonomous underwater vehicle docking applications

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Abstract

We develop a new kind of underwater inductive coupling power transfer (ICPT) system to evaluate wireless power transfer in autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) docking applications. Parameters that determine the performance of the system are systematically analyzed through mathematical methods. A circuit simulation model and a finite element analysis (FEA) simulation model are developed to study the power losses of the system, including copper loss in coils, semiconductor loss in circuits, and eddy current loss in transmission media. The characteristics of the power losses can provide guidelines to improve the efficiency of ICPT systems. Calculation results and simulation results are validated by relevant experiments of the prototype system. The output power of the prototype system is up to 45 W and the efficiency is up to 0.84. The preliminary results indicate that the efficiency will increase as the transmission power is raised by increasing the input voltage. When the output power reaches 500 W, the efficiency is expected to exceed 0.94. The efficiency can be further improved by choosing proper semiconductors and coils. The analysis methods prove effective in predicting the performance of similar ICPT systems and should be useful in designing new systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power Transmission and Control, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Jian-guang Shi, De-jun Li & Can-jun Yang

Authors
  1. Jian-guang Shi
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  2. De-jun Li
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  3. Can-jun Yang
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Correspondence to De-jun Li.

Additional information

Project supported by the National High-Tech R&D Program of China (No. 2013AA09A414), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51221004), and the Interdisciplinary Research Foundation of Zhejiang University (No. 2012HY003A)

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Shi, Jg., Li, Dj. & Yang, Cj. Design and analysis of an underwater inductive coupling power transfer system for autonomous underwater vehicle docking applications. J. Zhejiang Univ. - Sci. C 15, 51–62 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.C1300171

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.C1300171

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