Sensitivity Analysis of a High-Power Wireless Power Transfer Charging Pad for Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles to Inform Thermal Management

As the world shifts to net zero carbon emissions, many challenges lie ahead. Currently, heavy-duty vehicles produce a large amount of pollutants that are released into the air, affecting air quality in small and large cities. Transitioning heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks and buses, into electric vehicles can help resolve this problem. Electric vehicles and the infrastructure to support them are becoming a viable solution to combating climate change. By no means is electrification perfect yet. Concerns like range anxiety have made the transition to electrifying transportation a slow process. However, implementing Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) charging pads is a viable solution. These systems can charge an EV wirelessly. It is as simple as driving an EV over the charging pad. The charging pad can be placed in garages, parking lots, or roads. In the case of heavy-duty EVs, these WPT systems will need to produce a large amount of power to quickly charge the EV. With increased power comes increased heat. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate a megawatt WPT charging pad. Computer simulations calculated the temperature of certain components in the charging pad. Then, different parameters such as the power level were varied to see what affect those parameters had on the temperature of the pad. A program was created in which a design engineer could enter certain parameter information and the program would calculate the temperatures of certain components in the charging pad.