An Improved Variable Step-Size Maximum Power Point Tracking Control Strategy with the Mutual Inductance Identification for Series–Series Wireless Power Transfer Systems

Series–series (SS) wireless power transfer (WPT) systems are used in many applications because of their simple circuit structure. Compared with higher-order complex compensation topology, they are suitable for more demanding applications, such as rail trams with high power requirements but limited space for the coupling mechanism. However, the characteristics of their voltage source also put forward higher requirements for the control strategy. Improving the dynamic response performance of an SS compensation WPT system without any communication between the primary and secondary sides is the key issue. This paper proposes an improved variable step-size maximum power point tracking control strategy with the mutual inductance identification. Compared with the conventional P&O control, it can achieve a faster response and more accurate tracking, which are very important to the WPT for rail transit. A method of the mutual inductance identification based on the weight of parameter sensitivity is proposed. Based on the results of the identified mutual inductance, to make the system transfer the maximum power, the duty ratio of the receiver is adjusted to approach the corresponding equivalent load. To deal with the change of the mutual inductance, a condition of terminating the searching process of the maximum power point and re-identifying the mutual inductance is proposed. A simulation and experimental platform is built for verification. The results show that the proposed control strategy can quickly respond to the variation of the mutual inductance and load and achieve accurate maximum power point location, which improves the performance of the SS compensation WPT system.