Design and modeling of a resonant inductively coupled wireless power transfer system for micro aerial vehicles

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Title Design and modeling of a resonant inductively coupled wireless power transfer system for micro aerial vehicles
Publication Type thesis
School or College College of Engineering
Department Mechanical Engineering
Author Plaizier, Gregory Michael
Date 2018
Description This thesis discusses the design, modeling, and experimental validation of an inductively coupled wireless power transfer (WPT) system to power a micro aerial vehicle (MAV) without an onboard power source. MAVs are limited in utility by flight times ranging from 5 to 30 minutes. Using WPT for MAVs, in general, extends flight time and can eliminate the need for batteries. In this paper, a resonant inductive power transfer system (RIPT), consisting of a transmit (Tx) coil on a fixed surface and a receive (Rx) coil attached to the MAV, is presented, and a circuit is described. The RIPT system design is modeled to determine a suitable geometry for the coils, and the model validated experimentally. It is found that for the MAV used in this work, a suitable geometry of coils is a 19cm diameter planar spiral Tx coil made with 14 AWG copper wire, seven turns, and 5cm pitch paired with an Rx coil made of 16-20AWG wire, 13cm-20cm diameter, 1mm pitch, and one to two turns. A demonstration of an MAV being powered 11cm above the Tx coil with the WPT system in a laboratory setting is presented. The MAV consumes approximately 12 Watts. The overall power efficiency of the RIPT system from RF power source output to MAV motors is approximately 32%.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Mechanical engineering; Electrical engineering
Dissertation Name Master of Science
Language eng
Rights Management (c) Gregory Michael Plaizier
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
ARK ark:/87278/s6bg7n90
Setname ir_etd
ID 1496372
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6bg7n90
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