Leakage losses of a capacitive power transfer parallel four plate coupler

In spite of significant research, capacitive power transfer is not able yet to match the same power densities as inductive power transfer. One reason is the lack of models that take energy transfer through solid media into account. This paper bridges the gap by introducing the capacitive coupling-induced leakage resistance.The leakage resistance is simulated using an analytical approach and with finite element simulations coupled to a power electronics simulation. This approach reveals that the losses in media have a significant impact on the efficiency: In an exemplary case, polycarbonate dissipates 30% of the transferred power.