Wide Antimisalignment Tolerance WPT System With Uniform Magnetic Field Coupler for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Magnetic coupling resonance wireless power transfer (WPT) technology provides an effective solution to the range anxiety of the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). However, the irregular disturbance of marine currents poses great challenges to the engineering and practical application of underwater WPT technology. In this article, a novel discrete solenoid magnetic coupler with a wide range of anti misalignment tolerance is proposed by using the ingeniously designed uniform space electromagnetic field to suppress the power efficiency fluctuation issue in the actual working conditions of the AUV-WPT system. The design and optimization process of the proposed structure is elaborated in detail, and a 3-kW experimental prototype is constructed to verify the anti misalignment tolerance superiority of the scheme. The proposed coupler has a conformal structure, which will not change the hydrodynamic characteristics of the AUV and the docking station. Experimental results show that within the range of [−100, 100] mm axial misalignment and 360° rotational misalignment, the system efficiency remains above 90%, with less than 0.5% efficiency fluctuations. Besides, the proposed coupler has significant EMC advantages compared to similar solenoid structures, which can greatly improve the space utilization inside the AUV cabin and have excellent engineering application prospects.