Modeling and investigation of magnetic resonance coupled wireless power transfer system with lateral misalignment

Lateral misalignment between the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) in a wireless power transfer (WPT) system significantly reduces its power transmission efficiency. This paper first investigates the lateral misalignment in the magnetic resonance coupled (MRC) WPT system and identifies the High Efficiency Range (HER). The HER is a high efficiency area on the transmission efficiency versus Rx lateral misalignment amount curve. In the HER, the transmission efficiency is nearly constant at a maximum value before it sharply drops down to zero (or a very small value). The identification of the HER is verified by simulation results obtained from a developed ANSYS® HFSS® 3-D physical model. Simulation results of the ANSYS® HFSS® 3-D physical model with 5-turn, 60cm outer diameter spiral shape MRC-WPT system show that when the vertical distance (DIS) between the Tx and Rx ranges from 0.1 m to 1 m, an HER exists at each DIS value. When 0.3m ≤ DIS ≤ 0.6m, nearly constant high efficiency of ∼90% could be maintained when the lateral misalignment is not larger than 50cm (83.3% of the Rx diameter).