Influence of a Medium on Capacitive Power Transfer Capability

TL;DR

This paper investigates how different media, other than air, affect the efficiency and power transfer capability of capacitive power transfer systems through theoretical analysis, simulations, and electrical modeling.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of media influence on CPT, combining theoretical, simulation, and electrical modeling approaches.

Findings

Media significantly affect capacitive coupling and power transfer efficiency.

Simulation results align with theoretical predictions.

Media with higher dielectric constants improve power transfer over distances.

Abstract

Despite the advantages of capacitive power transfer (CPT), inductive power transfer (IPT) is still preferred. The reason: IPT systems have a gap power density in air that is 400 times greater. Conclusively, IPT can transmit more power than CPT over greater distances in air, but what about other media? This paper gives an answer on how media, different from air, influence the power transfer over different distances. First, we analyze theoretically the capacitive coupling with different media in the gap. Next, we simulate the CPT system using finite element software and compared it with the theoretical analysis. Finally, we employ the results of the finite element simulation in a power electronic simulation to examine the influence of the medium on the electrical power transfer.