Efficient Wireless Power Charging of Electric Vehicle by Modifying the Magnetic Characteristics of the Transmitting Medium

There is a developing enthusiasm for electric vehicle (EV) innovations because of their lower fuel utilization and greenhouse emission output. Integrating EVs with highway wireless power transfer (WPT) technology can appropriately reduce charging time and possibly expand their travel distance. There are several issues with the current WPT technology for EVs: 1) low efficiency due to large coil-coil distance and 2) slow charging time. Two ideas are proposed in this paper to increase system efficiency: 1) using a modified cement for covering the transmitting antenna area and 2) using high frequency wide bandgap switches, which can transfer a high amount of power in a short time. The optimization study of the receiving and transmitting coils is implemented with and without a core through 3-D finite-element analysis. The physics-based analysis is coupled with circuit-based analysis for utilizing high frequencies wide bandgap switch (SiC MOSFET). On the material side, the electromagnetic and mechanical properties of the modified cementitious composite are characterized and the results show significant improvement in the system efficiency.