In December, we announced the winners of our CST University Publication Award. Every year, we select three papers and one short paper to honor and we are excited to share some of the details behind the winning research. We spoke to Rong Hua to learn more about his team’s award winning paper, “The Effect of Matrix Power Repeaters on Magnetic Field Distribution of IPT Systems.”
Tell us a bit about yourself and your team.
I am from the wireless power transfer research team of the department of Electrical and Computer of the University of Auckland. My team is led by Professor Patrick Aiguo Hu. The team members work on various wireless power transfer technologies such as inductive power transfer, capacitive power transfer, ultrasonic power transfer, and energy harvesting technologies. I am working on both inductive and capacitive power transfer.
What is the challenge that your paper addresses?
I am currently researching on inductive power transfer (IPT) which is a popular wireless power transfer technology. IPT is based on near magnetic field coupling, which has limited power transfer distance. Matrix power repeaters (MPRs) were proposed to extend the power transfer range, but their effect on magnetic field distributions of IPT systems is not clear. This paper/project was to study the effect of MPRs on magnetic field distribution of IPT systems under different operating frequencies, so in-depth magnetic field analysis was essential.
How did you execute the simulations?
The key steps that I took to conduct the simulation include:
- Building the 3-D model.
- Setting up the transmitting coil and receiving coil
- Drawing a 3D model of matrix power repeaters.
- Setting up the simulation conditions.
- Boundaries and background conditions
- Frequency range
- Mesh size
- Power source and lumped elements (e.g. tuning capacitor of the matrix power repeaters)
- Time for the time solver or frequency for the frequency solver.
- Running the simulation.
Did you face any technical challenges along the way?
In the beginning, I struggled to decide whether I should use the high or low frequency module. After I consulted the CST Studio Suite technical support, I clearly understood the differences between the two modules and I decided to use the high frequency module for my PhD study.
What were the advantages of using simulation in your project?
Simulation allowed us to visualize the magnetic field distribution of the IPT systems, which was a great help for the system design. We were also able to verify the theoretical analysis regarding the relationship between magnetic field distribution and the system operating frequency.
Why did you choose CST Studio Suite over other simulation products?
We found that the 3D model design is easy to learn and use, with simulation parameters being easy to set up and results being clearly shown. We received excellent technical support from the CST Studio Suite team.
What’s next for your team?
Our group will continue to study how to actively control the magnetic field distribution of IPT systems using matrix power repeaters.
The team that contributed to this paper in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, at the University of Auckland consisted of Rong Hua, Patrick Aiguo Hu and Ho Fai Leung.
