Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) systems provide a \n promising solution for electric vehicles (EVs) wireless charging. \n The coils misalignment in this application significantly affects the \n charging power and efficiency. As a consequence, self and mutual \n inductance variations due to misalignment must be compensated \n with proper control techniques. This paper presents an algorithm \n to achieve Zero Phase Angle (ZPA) detection to compensate for \n design tolerances and mutual coupling variations, in addition to \n a control system to regulate the transferred power. To validate \n the proposed algorithm both simulations and experiments are \n provided for a 1-kW IPT system. The results confirms that the \n proposed algorithm is efficient and capable of keeping the ZPA \n conditions over coils misalignment.

In this paper, a software-based resolver to digital converter (RDC) is proposed. The hardware signal conditioning circuit is realized using common electronic components, while the algorithm can be implemented either using a microcontroller or an FPGA. Its validation and performance analysis has been carried out using an interior permanent magnet synchronous machine drive and, with comparative purposes, an LTN Servotechnik 1024 ppr incremental encoder. Tests show that the proposed RDC is characterized by a good dynamic response and precision, moreover, due to low computational demand, it can be successfully adopted without significant extra cost.

The energy storage sizing procedure for an all-electric aircraft, characterised by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), is presented in the paper. In order to define the energy consumption, the propulsion system model has been developed and simulated, referring to a specific configuration of VOLT obtained by the transformation of a very light twin-propeller aircraft named Tecnam P2012 T. Specifically, a flight mission-oriented to air city taxing has been considered. The simulation results highlight the presence of significant peak power during take-off and landing. At the aim of optimising the weight and the volume of the energy storage systems (ESSs), considered a critical issue in all-electric aircraft (AEA), the sizing of electrochemical and Supercapacitors (SCs) hybrid ESS configurations have been investigated. In particular, the use of SCs is devoted to the smooth peak power demand of VTOL-AEA. A comparison between the simulation results of an electrochemical battery and hybrid ESSs, designed on the test mission of Tecnam P2012 T power demand, has been developed and presented.

Cascaded H-Bridges Multilevel Inverters are an innovative and promising solution in different application fields. This topology allows obtaining an improvement in the performance (e.g. reduced harmonic content, the low voltage stress on power components, and high efficiency) in respect to the traditional two-level inverters. In this context, the Multicarrier-PWM strategies play an important role thanks to their features. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the performance of a three-phase five-level Cascaded H-Bridge inverter by using different PWM modulation strategies. In particular, the paper is focused on the experimental validation of the main features of Multicarrier PWM taken into account by varying the modulation index and the switching frequency.

Quasi-Z-source cascaded H-bridge (qZS-CHB) inverters are one promising solution for high power photovoltaic (PV) systems. This type of topologies inherits the advantages of cascaded converters (i.e., multilevel outputs) and impedance-source inverters (i.e., high conversion ratios). In addition, it allows increasing the inverter reliability (with high redundancy). However, the modulation and control of qZS-CHB inverters are challenging to a certain extent. Thus, this paper proposes modified modulation techniques to increase the performances of qZS-CHB converters in terms of voltage gains and stresses. The novelty lies in the use of the switching frequency optimal as reference signals in the modulation techniques. A comparison in terms of harmonics with selected modulation techniques is performed.

The inductive charging represents a valid solution for the power transfer in automotive applications. Due to the Inductive Power Transfer (IPT), the wireless battery charging of Electric Vehicles (EVs) provides several benefits. In this paper, an inductive charger which is particularly suitable for electrical bicycles is proposed. A practical realization of the system has been carried out, and the system has been tested in terms of working and efficiency. Through a Phase Shift Modulation (PSM), a power regulation has been implemented. The target power is 100 W.

This paper presents an overview and experimental analysis of the MC SPWM techniques for single-phase cascaded H-bridge inverter. The multilevel power converters are an alternative to traditional converters known as “three-level converters”. The voltage waveforms and the related frequency spectra, which have been obtained by simulation analysis in Matlab-Simulink environment, are here reported for all the proposed modulation techniques. The simulation results have been experimentally validated through means of a DC/AC, five-level, single-phase converter prototype with an appropriate test bench.

Today, Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) is widely investigated to provide wireless battery charge. Potential applications range from a few Watts of handheld devices to kWatts of automotive applications. Despite of comfort and safety options, wireless charging features relatively poor power conversion efficiency. In the literature, several solutions are proposed addressing efficiency related issues. In this paper, a 100W wireless charging station for electric bikes which improves the power conversion efficiency is proposed. The magnetic structure design is analyzed thoroughly as well as the proposed power electronics system architectures of both the power transmitter and power receiver. The efficiency of the proposed solution is shown by simulation results.