Investigation of External Factors for Wireless Capacitive Power Transfer Systems

Abstract

Capacitive power transfer (CPT) technology has gained more and more importance in recent years. This paper investigates the effects of temperature and relative humidity on CPT system performance. The conventional four-plate horizontal and vertical coupler structures are built to observe the variations of coupling capacitances under external factors. The pressure of the coupler ambient is kept constant, and the effects of temperature and relative humidity are reviewed separately. The different temperature (25 - 105 & DEG;C) and relative humidity (43 - 80% RH) levels are reviewed in these scenarios. The obtained results indicate that the values of coupling capacitances are inversely proportional to the temperature level, whereas the values of coupling capacitances are directly proportional to the relative humidity level. In addition, the visible changes happen in coupling capacitances after 45 & DEG;C and 55 & DEG;C for horizontally and vertically arranged four-plate coupler structures, respectively. It is also observed that relative humidity level becomes a critical point after 60% RH for both coupler structures. Among the coupling capacitances, the main capacitances are the most affected during the variations for both couplers. This study is expected to be a reference for the researchers on external factors in CPT systems.