Establishment of a wireless charging system for a battery-operated automatic guided vehicle

Thesis (Masters of Engineering in Electrical Engineering) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2018Modern technology provided a requirement that more power systems are being replaced with automated systems. Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV) are Electric Vehicles (EV) that make use of re-chargeable batteries as a power module in the automation process. The increase in use of an AGV requires an essential method that is safe, quick and convenient to recharge the system. Wireless transfer technology has become an effective and reliable option to replace the conventional wire transfer technology. The topology involves a power transmitter assembled to the grid, and a power receiver assembled to the battery. A wireless power transfer system should satisfy three conditions, namely high efficiency, large air gaps and high power. Recent studies have provided wireless mid-range charging technology to transfer power through resonant inductive coupling. The theory of resonant inductive coupling will therefore be used as the main technology in the design and implementation of a wireless charging system that can be successfully implemented with AGVs. The intention is to be able to wirelessly transform and transfer an alternating oscillating waveform into a DC voltage, to demonstrate instantaneous power transfer. To improve the comprehension on the theories related to “Magnetic Resonant Coupling”, quality factor and optimisation techniques of wireless power transfer systems, a design will be presented, along with the working principles and constructions of various components