An Anti-Misalignment and Reconfigurable Wireless Power Transfer System Using Bipolar Coil Array for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Aiming at the power supply problem of diverse AUVs, an anti-misalignment and reconfigurable wireless power transfer system based on the bipolar coil array has been proposed. By changing the number of working coils in the transmitting (Tx) coil array, three working modes are formed to adjust the coupling state. In the development of Tx coil structure, the design idea of adding the auxiliary coil on the main bipolar coil is employed to achieve target misalignment tolerance. Meanwhile, the optimal working mode and arc-shaped bipolar receiving coil structure are configured according to the size and required charging voltage of AUV. Prototype experiments are carried out to validate the correctness of this design approach. The results show that the proposed WPT system can provide matched charging voltage to an AUV with a diameter range of 20-60cm, and the output voltage variation is within 10% under different misalignment conditions.