Educational Setup: 500 W Inductive Power Transfer
This educational demonstrator was developed to help students gain practical experience with high-power inductive wireless power transfer (IWPT). Unlike most educational kits, which operate below 50 W, this setup reaches power levels up to 500 W and allows students to investigate real-world wireless charging challenges.
At a glance
A laboratory platform designed for engineering education, combining power electronics, resonant compensation networks, wireless energy transfer, and practical measurements.
- Target power: Up to 500 W
- Operating frequency: 85 kHz
- Technology: Inductive Wireless Power Transfer (IWPT)
- Compensation topology: LCC-S
- Educational focus: System analysis, simulation, measurements and coil misalignment
- Application examples: EV charging, robotics, industrial wireless power systems
Why was this setup developed?
Wireless power transfer is increasingly used in applications such as electric vehicle charging and industrial robotics. However, educational systems often operate at very low power levels and do not expose students to the challenges encountered in practical systems.
This setup was developed to bridge the gap between theory and industrial practice by providing a dedicated high-power educational platform.
Students can identify the different functional blocks of an IWPT system, investigate resonant behaviour, compare simulations with measurements and study the influence of coupling and misalignment.
The setup was created as part of a KU Leuven master thesis and is currently used in educational laboratory activities.
System architecture
The demonstrator follows the same functional structure found in many wireless power transfer systems.
The system consists of five main building blocks:
- DC power supply
- Full-bridge inverter
- Primary compensation network
- Inductive coupling link
- Secondary compensation and rectifier
The inverter converts a DC voltage into a high-frequency AC signal. The compensation networks establish resonance and improve power transfer performance.
Energy is transferred wirelessly through a magnetic field created between two coupled coils. On the receiving side, a rectifier converts the received AC power back into a DC output voltage.
LCC-S compensation topology
The system uses an LCC-S compensation network operating at 85 kHz. This topology was selected because of its desirable load-independent characteristics.
Traditional compensation networks such as SS, SP, PS and PP often suffer from changes in performance when load or coupling varies.
The LCC-S topology ensures a nearly constant transmitter coil current and allows the system to behave as a quasi-constant voltage source.
Implemented component values include:
- L1: 4.7 µH
- C1: 750 nF
- C2: 2.7 µF
- L2 and L3: 5.8 µH
- C3: 580 nF
These values are tuned to resonance at 85 kHz.
Hardware implementation
The hardware consists of a transmitting unit, an inductive link and a receiving unit.
The transmitting unit contains:
- Full-bridge GaN inverter
- ESP32 controller
- Real-time LCD frequency display
- Frequency adjustment potentiometer
- LCC compensation network
The receiving unit includes:
- Series compensation network
- Passive diode bridge rectifier
- High-current connectors
- Measurement points for laboratory experiments
Both coils are built using Litz wire and ferrite shielding to improve efficiency at high frequency.
Performance
Experimental measurements validate the operation of the educational setup and demonstrate realistic wireless power transfer behaviour.
- Operating frequency: 85 kHz
- Maximum measured output power: 393 W
- Peak efficiency: 78.9 %
- Input voltage range: 10 V – 60 V
Measurements show that output power increases with coupling coefficient and input voltage.
The setup also demonstrates the quasi-constant voltage behaviour of the LCC-S topology, with only limited output voltage variation over a wide load range.
Educational laboratory activities
The setup is integrated into laboratory sessions where students combine simulations and practical measurements.
The laboratory curriculum focuses on four learning objectives:
- Understanding the functional blocks of an IWPT system.
- Verifying theoretical concepts using PLECS simulations.
- Performing practical measurements and analysing coil misalignment effects.
- Comparing the educational setup with industrial wireless power transfer systems.
One of the most important experiments investigates how lateral coil misalignment influences coupling and output voltage, mimicking wireless charging scenarios in autonomous robotic systems.
Resources
Summary paper of educational IPT demonstrator (pdf)
Master thesis manuscript (pdf)
Sources
Document based on:
- S. Verhaeghe, A. Cloet, M. Kleemann and J. Van Mulders, "Design and Implementation of an Educational High-Power Inductive Wireless Power Transfer Setup", KU Leuven.