A High Mass Power Density Staggered U and I Shaped Pickup for Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer in Rail Transportation

In dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT) systems for rail transportation, conventional embedded pickups, such as E-shaped and U-shaped, suffer from the disadvantages of low coupling performance and low mass power density. In this article, a novel staggered U and I shaped (SUI-shaped) pickup is proposed to address this challenge. Through magnetic circuit modeling and comparative analysis, the SUI-shaped pickup has demonstrated superior performance in terms of coupling performance, mass power density, and efficiency. The influence of each core parameter on the system performance index is analyzed. Moreover, the analytical equation of mutual inductance and the design flowchart of the SUI-shaped pickup are given. Finally, a 22-kW dynamic prototype is built for experimental verification with the system dc–dc efficiency of 95.19% and the magnetic coupler (MC) efficiency of 97.46%.