Dependence of efficiency on wire type and number of strands of litz wire for wireless power transfer of magnetic resonant coupling

Abstract

Wireless power transfer is expected to be applied to portable devices and electric automobiles in the future. To achieve this, it is necessary to improve the transmission efficiency of the coils used in wireless power transfer, that is, to improve the quality factor and coupling coefficient of the coils. To improve the quality factor of the coils, the authors propose the use of a litz wire with a magnetoplated wire (MPW), which is a copper wire plated with a thin iron film. The MPW increases the quality factor of the coils by reducing the AC resistance owing to the proximity effect. In this study, the effect of the number of strands of a litz wire on the quality factor of the coils and efficiency characteristics is considered. Moreover, the quality factor of the coils and efficiency characteristics using three types of coil - a solid copper wire (COW), a litz wire with a copper wire (LCW), and a litz wire with an MPW (LMW) - are considered. At the transmission frequency f = 13.56 MHz, it is experimentally demonstrated that many strands, whose number becomes the highest in terms of the quality factor of the coils, exist. The transmission efficiencies of the COW, LCW and LMW coils at an output power of 5 W and a transmission distance of 9 mm are 89%, 84%, and 91%, respectively, and the efficiency of the LMW coil is the highest. Also, in this case, the temperature increases of the COW, LCW, and LMW coils are 12°, 16°, and 10°, respectively, and the LMW coil reduces the temperature increase.