Integral Equation Formulations for Modeling Wireless Power Transfer Systems in Close Proximity to Foreign Objects

Integral equation (IE) methods have recently been proposed for the modeling of inductively coupled resonant wireless power transfer. These approaches usually result in a low number of degrees of freedom. However, their applicability is mostly limited to homogeneous background media. In the present contribution, integral formulations are extended to take certain foreign objects into account in the model. By using quasi-static approximations, homogeneous foreign objects of canonical shape (e.g., spheres, plates) modify the Green's function such that it can still be analytically expressed; thus, the computational cost of the IE method remains low. The method is validated against 3-D finite-element simulation and experimental data.