Development of Wireless Charging for Mobile Application using PV

Module

by

Yee Kang Yung

17215

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the
Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)
(Electrical and Electronic)

SEPTEMBER 2014

Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS

Bandar Seri Iskandar
31750 Tronoh
Perak Darul Ridzuan
 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL

Development of Wireless Charging for Mobile Application using PV

Module

by

Yee Kang Yung

17215

A project dissertation submitted to the

Electrical and Electronics Engineering Programme
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (Hons)
(ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC)

Approved by,

_____________________
(Dr. Nor Zaihar B Yahaya)

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS

TRONOH, PERAK
September 2014

i
 CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that I am responsible for the work submitted in this project, that the
original work is my own except as specified in the references and
acknowledgements, and that the original work contained herein have not been
undertaken or done by unspecified source or persons.

_________________
YEE KANG YUNG

ii
 ABSTRACT

In this paper, a wireless power transmission (WPT) using resonant magnetic

coupling for mobile phone charger is presented. Solar energy was used as the energy
source to address the scarcity of non-renewable energy sources and tackles the
constraints of wired charging technology such as lack of universal electrical
standard, untidiness and inconvenience of wires and wires' wear and tear. The system
includes PV panels and battery, oscillator, transmitting coil and receiving coil and
rectifier. Proteus 8.1 was used to simulate before implementing in the hardware. The
resonant magnetic coupling resonated at 800 kHz ± 10 kHz. The maximum distance
to charge a mobile phone was 4 cm at 3.7 V. All the objectives are achieved within
the limited time frame. The significance of the project can help to eradicate the use
of wires and the need of power plugs. The future research includes the study of
efficiency, coil design, system with multiple loads.

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank my cherished parents, Ms. Lie Swee Fong
and Mr. Yee Yu Seng, and my siblings, Mr. Yee Kang Ting, Mrs Chong Wee Nee
and Mr. Yee Kang Ching for their unconditional support, love and motivation. My
girlfriend, Vivian Tan for her love and care. I would like to thank my extended
family, Mrs. Jamie Kee, Mrs. Ellis Kee, Mr. Tan and Mrs. Chee and Ms. Joscelyn
Tan for their motivation and support throughout my studies in Universiti Teknologi
PETRONAS.

I would like to dedicate my earnest appreciation and gratitude to my research

supervisor, Dr. Nor Zaihar Yahaya, for his patience, consistent support, valuable
advice and opportunity to study under his guidance. I would like to further my
gratitude to Associate Professor Dr. Balbir Singh Mahinder Singh for his helpful
insight on solar energy and PV module. I would like to extend my appreciation to my
former supervisor, Takashi Oshima for his extended guidance and motivation,
knowledge and experience towards the finishing of this thesis.

Deepest thanks to all my friends particularly, Lin Jie, Zi yi, Vuen Nee, Le June,
Michael Cheah, Kim Kiew, Ban Siong, others for their kindness and moral support
during my studies.

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL ........................................................................ i

CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY .................................................................. ii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................... iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................... v
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. vii
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. viii
ABBREVIATION ..................................................................................................... ix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1
1.1. BACKGROUND ................................................................................... 1
1.2. PROBLEM STATEMENTS ................................................................ 2
1.2.1. No Universal Power Standard and Plug ...................................... 3
1.2.2. Inconvenience and Untidiness ...................................................... 4
1.2.3. Wires' Wear and Tear ................................................................... 5
1.3. OBJECTIVES ....................................................................................... 5
1.4. SCOPES OF STUDY ............................................................................ 6
1.5. SIGNIFICANCES OF THE PROJECT FOR INDUSTRY .............. 6
1.6. FEASIBILITY OF THE PROJECT ................................................... 7
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORY ..................................... 8
2.1. AMPERE'S LAW ................................................................................. 8
2.2. FARADAY'S LAW OF MAGNETIC INDUCTION ........................ 9
2.3. RESONANT FREQUENCY .............................................................. 10
2.4. MAGNETIC RESONANCE COUPLING ....................................... 10
2.5. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF WIRELESS
POWER TRANSMISSION ........................................................................... 11
2.6. RECENT WORK AND ITS APPLICATION.................................. 12
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 15
3.1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...................................................... 15
3.2. PROJECT DESIGN ........................................................................... 15
3.2.1. Power Supply Unit ....................................................................... 16
3.2.2. Oscillator ...................................................................................... 17
3.2.3. Coils ............................................................................................... 18

v
 3.2.4. Rectifier ........................................................................................ 19
3.3. THEORETICAL CALCULATION AND EQUATION ................. 19
3.3.1. Resonant Frequency .................................................................... 19
3.3.2. Coil Parameters ........................................................................... 20
3.4. TOOLS................................................................................................. 21
3.5. PROJECT ACTIVITY ....................................................................... 22
3.5.1. Key Milestones ............................................................................. 22
3.5.2. Project Flow Chart For Final Year Project 1 ........................... 23
3.5.3. Project Flow Chart For Final Year Project 2 ........................... 24
3.5.4. Gantt Chart .................................................................................. 25
CHAPTER 4: RESULT & DISCUSSION ............................................................. 27
4.1. OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ 27
4.2. TRANSMITTER CIRCUIT .............................................................. 27
4.2.1. Simulation Prototype ................................................................... 27
4.2.2. Practical Prototype ...................................................................... 28
4.3. COIL DESIGN .................................................................................... 30
4.4. TESTING AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULT ................................ 30
4.4.1. Testing ........................................................................................... 30
4.4.2. Experimental Result .................................................................... 31
4.5. DISCUSSION ...................................................................................... 32
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION .................................. 33
5.1. CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 33
5.2. RECOMMENDATION OF FUTURE WORKS ............................. 33
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 34
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. I

vi
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1. The Variation of Voltage and Frequency Standards in the World [12] ... 3
FIGURE 2. The Variation of Power Plug Standards in the World [13] ...................... 4
FIGURE 3. Untidiness of Wires at a Workstation [14] ............................................... 4
FIGURE 4. Limitations of Wire Technology ............................................................ 5
FIGURE 5. Ampere Law [19] ..................................................................................... 8
FIGURE 6. Electromagnetic Induction [20] ................................................................ 9
FIGURE 7. Schematic Diagram of the Magnetic Resonant Coupling .................... 11
FIGURE 8. The Block Diagram of Solar Wireless Charging System..................... 16
FIGURE 9. Circuit Diagram of Power Supply Unit ................................................ 17
FIGURE 10. The Circuit Diagram of the Transmitter............................................... 18
FIGURE 11. Circuit Diagram of Rectifier ................................................................ 19
FIGURE 12. Key Milestones of Final Year Project .................................................. 22
FIGURE 13. Proteus Simulation of the Transmitter Circuit ..................................... 28
FIGURE 14. Oscilloscope Result of the 555 Timer Output and L293d Output ....... 28
FIGURE 15. Hardware Prototype ............................................................................. 29
FIGURE 16. The Oscillator Output with 805.27 kHz ............................................... 29
FIGURE 17. The L293d Output with Amplified Voltage of 12 V............................ 29
FIGURE 18. Graph of Voltage (V) & Current (mA) against Distance (cm) ............ 31
FIGURE 19. Graph of Power (W) against Distance (cm) ......................................... 32

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE I. Review of Past Works.............................................................................. 14

TABLE II.Proposed Prototype Specification ........................................................... 15
TABLE III. Specifications of the Photovoltaic Panel .............................................. 16
TABLE IV. Specifications of the Battery ................................................................ 16
TABLE V.Structures of the Transmitter and Receiver Coils .................................... 18
TABLE VI. Gantt Chart of Final Year Project 1 ..................................................... 25
TABLE VII. Gantt Chart of Final Year Project 2 ..................................................... 26
TABLE VIII. Measured Coil Specification .............................................................. 30
TABLE IX. Results of Voltage (mV) and Current (mA) based on Distance (cm) .. 31

viii
 ABBREVIATION

AC - Alternating Current
d - Distance
DC - Direct Current
f - Resonant Frequency
Iout - Output Current
ISM - Industrial, Scientific and Medical
PV - Photovoltaic
PWM - Pulse Width Modulation
Rx - Receiver
Tx - Transmitter
Vout - Output Voltage
WPT - Wireless Power Transmission
η - Efficiency

ix
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. BACKGROUND

Palm, an American mobile phone company, first presented its smart phone with
wireless charging features in the year 2009 that precedes to an opening of a new
breadth in the mobile world [1]. The ripple effect of Palm's wireless charging devices
has engrossed the competitors in the smart phone arena. As a result, its competitors
such as Nokia's Lumia, Google's Nexus, Samsung's Galaxy and Motorola have
offered an optional wireless charging in their mobile phone package. Besides that,
the famous coffee franchises, Starbucks and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf have
provided public wireless charging stations in their shop as a tryout. Thus, coffee
lovers can charge their compatible mobile phones at ease just by putting it on the
table or countertop. [2, 3].

The concept of wireless charging materialized from the idea of Wireless Power
Transmission (WPT) which started in the early 20th century, when a visionary
Serbian electrical engineer, Nikola Tesla invented a resonant transformer – Tesla
Coil. The Tesla coil is a device that could power the electrical devices around
wirelessly. While it is used in a minor scale of experiments, a bigger version of the
Tesla coil – the Wardenclyffe Tower, also known as Tesla Tower, was built. It was
believed to transmit energy to a much greater distance, from city to city. However,
due to the low feasibility of the project and the fear of safety hazards, the project
investors decided to discontinue its funding. In the end, the project was not
accomplished. However, that was not the end of the WPT. Companies started using
the concept of the WPT to produce numerous creation ranging from, electric
toothbrush, surgically implanted devices, electric vehicle, and now mobile phone
charger [4-7].

The general principle of the WPT is when an alternating current (AC) passes through
a closed loop coil, magnetic fields will be generated around the coil. This

1
phenomenon is known as Ampere's Law [8]. On the other hand, the magnetic field
generated by the transmitter will induces a voltage in the receiver coil. This incident
is recognized as Faraday's Magnetic Induction Law [8].

While wireless charging method in the market, called inductive coupling, operates at
a near distance, in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Professor Marin
Soljačić and his team developed a prototype that transmits power wirelessly at a
middle range distance, (d > 1 meters). Their objectives are to increase the distance of
transmitting and the efficiency. The working principle of their prototype is to utilize
a resonant coupled coil in magnetic induction, or called resonant coupling [9].

This magnetic resonant coupling technique operates at the resonant frequency by

both transmitter and receiver coils. When two coils are tuned to the same resonant
frequency, the efficiency and the range of the transmitted energy are enhanced.
Besides that, energy could be transferred while the coils are not aligned. This is
called Non-Radiative Energy Transfer. The resonant frequency (f) is generated using
LC tuned circuit where the inductance is from the excitation or receiving coil and a
capacitor [9].

In our modern world in which technologies are ubiquitous in everyday life, we need
additional electrical energy to turn on our appliances or gadgets. While conventional
energy sources like gas, coal, natural gas are limited and emit polluted air to the
atmosphere, the renewable energy emerges as the solution to reduce the dependency
on traditional energy sources and scale down the pollution level [10]. One of the
many choices of renewable energy, solar power, has been a viable option because of
it is economical, pollution-free and readily available [10]. This project uses solar
photovoltaic panels to convert solar energy into electricity, which then charges
mobile devices wirelessly using a magnetic resonance coupling technique [9, 11].

1.2. PROBLEM STATEMENTS

With the newest technology materializing everyday to improve people's standard of

living, there is higher demand for more electricity. However, many weaknesses in the
conventional energy sources have compelled energy producer to consider alternative

2
energy or renewable energy. Solar energy is considered to be one of the viable
solutions due to its superiority over the conventional energy in terms of
environmental cause and availability [10].

People rely on electrical devices and electronic gadgets to improve the way they
perform daily activities. Most of the electrical devices powered by wire technology,
but its limitation has become nuisances to the users. Several notable current issues of
wire technology are clarified in the next section.

1.2.1. No Universal Power Standard and Plug

Numerous power standards have established by a certain country since the early
invention of electrical equipments around the world. Three significant parameters in
power standards are the voltage level, frequency and plug head. The Fig. 1 shows the
variation of electrical standards which are ranging from 100 - 130 V and 60 Hz
(North America and Eastern South America), 100 - 130 V and 50 Hz (Northern
Japan) and the rest of the world uses 220 - 240 V and 50 Hz. The Fig. 2 displays the
variation of power plug standards and the variety of plug head ranges from Type A-
Type M.

FIGURE 1. The Variation of Voltage and Frequency Standards in the World [12]

3
 FIGURE 2. The Variation of Power Plug Standards in the World [13]

1.2.2. Inconvenience and Untidiness

Now, electronic gadgets and electrical equipments are extremely reasonable cost due
to the ever-growing technologies and global competitions. Thus, consumers could
afford many different gadgets and workstations to solve variety of problems. As a
result, due to many wires interconnected with each equipment, the wires are cluttered
behind the desk as shown in Fig. 3.

FIGURE 3. Untidiness of Wires at a Workstation [14]

4
 1.2.3. Wires' Wear and Tear

The wire's wear and tear are one of the most imperative problem in the wire
technology. The wear and tear of the wire are imminent due to the extensive use and
improper handling of the wires. Thus, the wires require maintenance every certain
period of time to retain its capability of transmission and preserve the efficiency of
the transmission.
Aside from the three current issues, previous works from other researcher have
showed several limitations [6, 9, 15-18]. Thus, this paper proposed an improvise
solution of research [18]. This paper proposed a solar based non-radiative magnetic
resonance coupling wireless mobile charger.

From the current issues, the problem statements in regards to the limitations of wire
charging can be simplified into a block diagram as shown in Fig. 4.

Inconvenience
and
Untidiness
No universal
Cables’ Wear
power
and Tear
standard

Problems

FIGURE 4. Limitations of Wire Technology

1.3. OBJECTIVES

This dissertation aims to develop a workable prototype and achieve three objectives
that have been identified based on the problem statements. The project's objectives
are as followings:

 To understand the concept of wireless power transmission

 To design a system for the generation of wireless power transmission in order
to charge a mobile application
5
  To analyze the results for reliability and efficiency of the wireless power
transmission

1.4. SCOPES OF STUDY

The scopes of this project reflects the objectives of this project. The project's scope
of studies consists of:

 To study the principles of wireless power transmission and resonant coupling

 To develop a wireless charging device that uses solar energy as input
 To test the efficiency and the reliability of the wireless power transfer system

1.5. SIGNIFICANCES OF THE PROJECT

The key prospects of this project are to study and comprehend the operation and the
principle of the magnetic resonance coupling technique. As electricity is a
commodity in the modern world we are living in, the energy transmission medium
serves as a link between the power plant and the consumers or power plug to
electronic gadgets.

At present, the concept of the WPT has been proven and it is used as part of the
advance mobile phone charging technology in the mobile phone market. However,
not much research has been done in this area, i.e. solar based wireless power transfer
system. The advantages of having solar based wireless power transfer system are:

 The amount of wires used are reduced

 Universal power standards could achieved because no plug is necessary
 Users are not restricted to an area while charging an electronic device

The targeted application of this project is a mobile phone. However, the project's
application can extend to any mobile application such as tablets, laptops, cameras,
etc. Furthermore, it can also apply to home appliances such as televisions, printers,

6
cook top, etc, where a larger scale system is required. In future application, this can
be a system for electric vehicle (EV) charging station where the cost of electricity for
the EV can be reduced.

Hence, it is crucial to acknowledge the potential of wireless power transmission

using solar energy as a source. Many areas of research can be conducted especially in
medium and high power applications, the efficiency of power transfer, coil design
etc.

1.6. FEASIBILITY OF THE PROJECT

This project needs to be accomplished within a given time frame. The feasibility of
this research is charted in the Scope of Studies and Gantt Chart. This project is
limited to one device which is achievable within the time frame and it is because it is
crucial to first determine best parameters to transfer power effectively before
designing the system for multiple load. Hence, this makes the project feasible and
achievable within the duration of the Final Year Project (FYP).

7
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORY

The research on wireless power transmission and the theory behind this system that
includes magnetic resonance coupling is described in details.

2.1. AMPERE'S LAW

The Ampere's Law discovered by André-Marie Ampère in 1826 defined that "an
electric current-carrying conductor produces a magnetic field proportional to the
current."

 H  dL  I enc
(1)

The Eq. (1) concluded that any path that enclose the wire, the sum of the magnetic
field at each point along the path is equal to the amount of current that flowing in the
wire. In a given wire, the magnetic field, H can be calculated using Eq. (2) where R,
is the radius of the loop [8]. Figure 5 shows the magnetic field generated by electric
current flowing in the conductor.

I enc
H (2)
2R

FIGURE 5. Ampere Law [19]

8
2.2. FARADAY'S LAW OF MAGNETIC INDUCTION

Faraday's Law of Magnetic Induction stated that "the time-varying electromagnetic

field will induce an electromotive force (emf) in a closed circuit." The direction of
the emf is explained in Lenz Law -- "the current in the loop is always in such a
direction as to oppose the change of magnetic flux that produced it" [8]. The
equation of Faraday's Law of Magnetic Induction is expressed as follows:

d
emf   N (3)
dt

The Eq. (3) shows that the emf is proportional to the change in flux, dϕ. The emf is
inversely proportional to the change in time, dt when the emf is highest when dt is
smallest. The number of turns, N is proportional to the emf as the higher the turns in
the coil, the greater the emf is produced. The minus sign is based on Lenz's Law as it
states that "the current and the magnetic field is opposed to the change in flux, dϕ"
[8].

Figure 6 shows the operation of electromagnetic induction. The generated current

from the battery flows into the first coil and produces electromagnetic fields. When a
second closed circuit coil is near the electromagnetic field, the load will be
energized, and in this case, the bulb will light.

FIGURE 6. Electromagnetic Induction [20]

9
2.3. RESONANT FREQUENCY

Resonance is a phenomenon in which a system or an object vibrates at its natural

frequency at maximum amplitude. When a system oscillates or vibrates at a
frequency that matches with its natural frequency, it is said that the system is
oscillating at the resonant frequency. Resonance can be used to transfer energy when
two objects vibrate at the same frequency.

2.4. MAGNETIC RESONANCE COUPLING

Magnetic resonance coupling uses the concept of resonant frequency and magnetic
induction. The magnetic resonance coupling method increases the power
transmission efficiency and the distance of the transmission [9],[15]. The transmitter
produces Alternating Current (AC) that oscillates at the resonant frequency of the
transmitter coil where the coil is tuned to the same frequency. On the other hand, the
receiver coil then captures the magnetic field where the coil is also tuned at the same
resonant frequency as the transmitter that is connected to the load. When the coils are
tuned to the same frequency, the position of the secondary coil and objects between
the coils would not affect the transmission provided the secondary coil is within the
magnetic field of the primary coil. This phenomenon is called non-radiative energy
transfer. The Eq. (4) demonstrates the resonant frequency is dependent to the
inductance and capacitance.

1
f  (4)
2 LC

in which: f = Resonant Frequency, L = Inductance and C = Capacitance

Figure 7 shows the resonant inductor and resonant capacitor in the orange boxes are
responsible to create the resonance for both of the sides. This is called the LC tuned
circuit. The resistor, RA and RB represent the resistance for the resonator [21].

10
 FIGURE 7. Schematic Diagram of the Magnetic Resonant Coupling

The coil, Tx coil and Rx coil are a very crucial component in a whole system. The
coils can be manipulated by the following parameters: the shape of the coil, the
number of turns, the size and diameter of the coil, the diameter and the type of the
wire.

The function of the resonant capacitor, Cs and Cr in the LC tuned circuit is to

generate a resonant frequency of the transmitter coil and the receiver coil. The value
of the capacitor must be consistent with the resonant inductance to produce the
accurate resonant frequency. The LC tuned circuit needs to be precise and almost as
identical to the frequency generated by the timer to achieve the magnetic resonant
coupling effect. The Eq. (5) shows value of the capacitor is derived from the Eq. (4):

1
C
2f 2 L
(5)

2.5. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF WIRELESS POWER

TRANSMISSION

Wireless power transmission may help to eliminate the role of transmission line in
any kind of electrical conveniences. For example, in power grid network, the WPT
reduces the usage of interconnected transmission cables that cover the entire nation.
Therefore, the cost of the electrical system is reduced radically as procurement and
maintenance of the cables are nonexistent. As a result, the cost of electrical energy
for consumers may also decrease. Furthermore, power failures due to failure of
copper cables, short circuits or external disturbances and maintenances could be
11
prevented. Besides that, in a smaller scale, the WPT helps the user to charge their
electrical devices conveniently. In addition, it will reduce the space consumption for
wires and cables.

However, the negative side of the WPT is that it is a new and exciting field where the
currently low number of experts is available to bring WPT into succession.
Moreover, the feasibility of the WPT at present is not economical where the
efficiency is still not up to expectation. Besides that, the cost of implementing WPT
is high in current market [22].

2.6. RECENT WORK AND ITS APPLICATION

From [9], the team led by Professor Marin Soljačić and his team at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), first demonstrated magnetic resonance coupling
wireless power transmission. Their technique was able to light up a 60 W light bulb
over a distance of 2 m with 40 % efficiency. In their research, they have pointed out
that a traditional non-resonance approach is inefficient for midrange applications.
Through their findings, it is believed that the geometry of the coil is an important
aspect to improve the wireless power transmission system.

In University of Tokyo, a team led by Professor Yoichi Hori used the same technique
as the team at MIT had carried out [9],[17]. However, this team in Japan explored
their method by using the impedance matching circuit to improve their overall
efficiency of the system. The impedance matching circuit involves an LC circuit to
reduce the power reflection ration to the power source of the WPT system. However,
the team resorted to Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) frequency for their
WPT system to resonate. ISM band frequency is a reserved radio frequency for
industrial, scientific and medical purposes.

From [23], the researchers developed a wireless charging pad that could
accommodate various mobile devices. The efficiency of the wireless power
transmission system ranged from 42 % to 51 %. The researchers proposed a high
efficient transmitter to improve the conversion of power from wall power outlet to
transmitter circuit. Their resonance frequency was at 6.78 MHz.

12
In [16], the team in Croatia used a restricted ISM band as their resonance frequency
which was at 16.64 MHz. This frequency is different than the ISM band in Japan
[17]. The author in Croatia agreed that the resonant frequency should be in the high
frequency (MHz) region because the coil size is suitable for mobile devices.
However, the usage of higher frequency has its limitations as skin effect of the
conductor degrades the performance of the system. The WPT system achieved 16.44
% efficiency with 0.1 A and 0.5 W at a distance of 2.5 cm.

13
 TABLE I. Review of Past Works
Reference Measured
Description of the Work Technique Used Advantages Disadvantages
Number Parameters

Strong Coupled, self-resonant Mid range,

Magnetic Resonance d Low
[9] coils power transfer over 2 m;
Coupling η Efficiency
light up a 60 W blub d≈2m

Magnetic Resonance
Wireless charging pad for Coupling with power d Improves ƞ
[16] Short Distance
multiple load devices amplifier and power η Multiple load
tracking

Low
Wireless phone charger with Inductive Coupling and d Sufficiently to charge a
[17] Efficiency
0.5 W power output Impedance Matching η mobile phone
Short Range

It uses IM technique to achieve Magnetic Resonance Increased efficiency when

d
[23] maximum power transfer Coupling with Impedance coils are tuned to resonant Short Distance
η
efficiency Matching frequency IM circuit

14
 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

One of the objectives of this project is to design and develop a prototype which could
charge a mobile phone using the wirelessly transmitted energy with the use of solar
energy as the input. The wireless transmission obeys the magnetic resonance
coupling principle. The project specifications and design are discussed in the next
section.

3.2. PROJECT DESIGN

The proposed prototype specification for this solar based wireless charger is listed in
Table II. From Table II, the system was able to provide output current of 200 mA,
within the maximum rating of 1 A for mobile phone. Besides that, the output voltage
and output impedance to charge a mobile phone was listed as the output voltage and
output impedance. As a result, power consumption of 1 W was achieved and the
system's resonant frequency was resonating at 800 kHz with a tolerance of 1.25 %.

TABLE II. Proposed Prototype Specification

Output Current, mA 200
Output Voltage, V 5
Output Impedance, Ω 1
Power Consumption, W 1
Resonant Frequency, kHz 800 ± 10

The block diagram of the solar wireless charging system is shown in Fig. 8. Details
will be discussed in the following sections for each of the components in the block
diagram.

15
 Tx. Rx.
Coil Coil
Solar Power Supply
Oscillator Rectifier Load
Energy Unit

Transmitter Receiver
FIGURE 8. The Block Diagram of Solar Wireless Charging System

3.2.1. Power Supply Unit

The solar energy is used as the input energy in this system. The solar energy has
converted into electrical energy by a solar PV panel. Detailed description of the solar
PV module was stated in Table III. From Table III, a total of 8 W was listed as the
power rating of the solar PV module. Besides that, a voltage of 17.5 V and a current
of 0.46 A were rated as the maximum output voltage and the output current of the PV
module respectively.

The battery is used to store electrical energy and provide power whenever there are
no solar energy available. From Table IV, a voltage of 12 V and the ampere-hour of
1.2 Ah were rated as the output voltage and the output current respectively. In other
words, the battery can supply up to 1.2 A per hour or 2.4 A per half an hour.

TABLE III. Specifications of the Photovoltaic Panel

Type Polycrystalline
Rated Power, W 8
Rated Voltage, V 17.5
Rated Current, A 0.46

TABLE IV. Specifications of the Battery

Rated Voltage, V 12
Rated Current, Ah 1.2

16
 FIGURE 9. Circuit Diagram of Power Supply Unit

The Fig. 9 shows the power supply unit. The solar energy was converted into
electrical energy by a PV module. The converted electrical energy was stored in the
battery and it is used when the system is turned on. The DC voltage level is
converted into VA and VB by two voltage regulators. The voltage levels, VA and
VB are necessary for the subsequent operation. These voltage regulators are able to
sustain the current up to 1 A. The capacitors, C1 - C4 are used to stabilize the ripples
of the voltage. The capacitor value of 0.33 μF was used for C1 and C3 and the
capacitor value of 0.1 μF was used for C2 and C4, according to datasheet in appendix
I.

3.2.2. Oscillator

A precision timer, TLC555, and half-H Driver, L293d were part of the oscillator as
shown in Fig. 10. The operation of the TLC555 timer was operated in astable mode.
In other words, the timer will produce a series of High and Low square pulses with a
certain frequency. The transmitter coil, L1 was driven by the half-H driver, L293d
where the TTL input was amplified into a higher voltage output depending on the
voltage level supplied into pin 8. The capacitor, C8 is the resonant capacitor that
produces resonant frequency. The capacitance value of 10 nF was used because the
capacitor is widely available. The capacitors C5 and C6 in the timer were used in
accordance to the datasheets in appendix II. Thus, the capacitance value of 0.1 μF
was set for capacitors C5 and C6. The value of the capacitor is set to 0.1 μF as well
to smoothen the ripple or a sudden input voltage spike. The value of capacitor, VC1
was set to 10 nF which will ease in achieving the resonant frequency of 800 kHz.
The resonant frequency of 800 kHz was selected at the maximum capability of the

17
timer. It is because higher frequency can increase the distance of transmission [9].
Thus, the value of R1 and VR1 were designed at 3.6 Ω and 88.2 Ω.

FIGURE 10. The Circuit Diagram of the Transmitter

3.2.3. Coils

The transmitter coil and receiver coil are explained in the previous chapter under
chapter 2.4. where the equivalent circuit for coils and resonator are shown in Fig. 7.
The structures of transmitter and receiver coils are as Table V. The parameters of
these coils are based on the construction of previous project [24]. However, due to
the unavailability of 0.9 mm of enameled copper wire, the coil used in this project
was replaced by 1 mm of enameled copper wire. The enameled copper wire was
hand wound into circular shape with the diameter of 70 mm.

TABLE V. Structures of the Transmitter and Receiver Coils

Material Enameled Copper Wire
Number of Turns for Each Coils, N 5
Diameter of Turns, mm 70
Diameter of Coil, mm 1
Shape of Turns Circular

18
 3.2.4. Rectifier

Figure 11 shows the circuit diagram for the rectifier. AC signal to DC signal
conversion was completed by bridge rectifier, BR. The voltage was regulated by 5 V
positive voltage regulator. The load, RLOAD was driven by the voltage regulator. The
voltage ripples were stabilized by the capacitors C9 and C10 where the values are
0.33μF and 0.1 μF according to the datasheet of voltage regulator in appendix I.

FIGURE 11. Circuit Diagram of Rectifier

3.3. THEORETICAL CALCULATION AND EQUATION

3.3.1. Resonant Frequency

The resonant frequency of this system was chosen at 800 kHz. As previously
mentioned in the oscillator section, the values for R1, VR1 and VC1 were selected at
3.6 Ω, 88.2 Ω and 10 nF. To calculate that the values selected to achieve the required
frequency, the Eq. (6) was used where the equation was obtained from the datasheet
of 555 timer at appendix II.

1.44
f 
R1  2  VR1VC1
(6)

1.44
f 
3.6  2  88.210 109
f  800kHz
1 (7)
t  1.25  10 6 sec s
f

19
The resonant frequency was calculated using Eq. (6) and the total period of a cycle of
the frequency was calculated in Eq. (7) where the resonant frequency is the inversely
proportional to the total period per cycle.

The duty cycle, D was calculated by Eq. (8). After applying the value of VR1 and R1
into Eq. (8), the 51% of the duty cycle was calculated. However, the duty cycle does
not affect the performance of the system.

R1  VR1
D (8)
R1  2  VR1
3.6  88.2
D 100  51%
3.6  2  88.2

3.3.2. Coil Parameters

The circular shaped coil was used in this project. The design of the coil was based on
Neumann's equation [25]. The inductance required of the coils was calculated from
Eq. (9):

  8R  
L1  N 2 R 0 ln    2 (9)
  a  
where; N is the number of turns, R is the radius of the coil,  0 is the permeability
constant and a is the radius of the conductor. Thus,

  80.035  
L1  5 2 (0.035)4e 7 ln    2
  0.001  
L1  3.99  10 6 H
C8  9.9 10 9 F

Based on the calculated value of the L1 and selected value of C8, the resonant
frequency of this project is calculated using Eq. (4) is 800 kHz, which then fulfilled
the magnetic resonant coupling's principle.

20
3.4. TOOLS

 Proteus Simulator Version 8.1

The simulation was done by using Proteus circuit simulator.

 CadSoft EAGLE PCB Design Software

Printed Circuit board layout is generated by CadSoft Eagle PCB Design
software.

 Digital Multimeter
Voltage, resistor's value, capacitor's value and current is measured by digital
multimeter.

 TekTronix TDS 1002 Digital Oscilloscope

Frequency and AC and DC voltage levels are measured by TekTronix TDS
1002 Digital Oscilloscope.

 Fluke Automatic RCL Meter

The inductance of the charging coils is measured and verified by RCL meter.

 GW Instek Laboratory DC Power Supply

DC voltage supplied by GW Instek Laboratory DC Power Supply to represent
the battery.

 Microsoft Excel 2007

Calculation, graphing, tabulation is prepared using Microsoft Excel 2007.

 Microsoft PowerPoint 2007

The presentation was completed using Microsoft PowerPoint 2007.

 Microsoft Word 2007

Documentation was completed using Microsoft Word 2007.

21
3.5. PROJECT ACTIVITY

This section of the report described the project's key milestone, flow charts and Gantt
Chart.

3.5.1. Key Milestones

This project has several achievable key milestones throughout Final Year Project as
shown in Fig. 12. The key milestones started with project confirmation in May 2014
to Literature Review and Initial Design in June and July 2014. In August 2014, final
design and procure material is conducted. Testing, troubleshooting and analysis are
started from September 2014 and completed in October 2014. In November 2014,
the focus will be on prototype design.

Final
Design
Confirm
Project Procure Prototype
Title Material Design
• May • August • November
2014 2014 2014

Literature Testing
Review Troubleshooting
Analysis
Initial • September
Design 2014 - October
• June - 2014
July
2014

FIGURE 12. Key Milestones of Final Year Project

22
3.5.2. Project Flow Chart For Final Year Project 1

Start

Confirmation of
Title Project

Research &
Literature Review

Theoretical
Development

NO
Meet
Requirement?

YES

Purchase Materials

Circuit
Development

Preliminary Result
and Analysis

23
3.5.3. Project Flow Chart For Final Year Project 2

Optimization of
Methodology

Model Testing

Prototype
Development

NO
Prototype Meet
Objective?

YES
Getting Result and
Analysis

End

24
 3.5.4. Gantt Chart

The overall plan for Final Year Project 1 as shown in TABLE VI.

TABLE VI. Gantt Chart of Final Year Project 1

No. Detail/Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1 Selection of Project Topic
2 Preliminary Research Work
3 Attend FYP Talk
4 Submission of Extended Proposal
5 Purchase Materials
6 Simulation and Prototype
7 Circuit Improvement
8 Proposal Defense
9 Hardware Testing
10 Interim Report Preparation
11 Submission of Interim Draft Report
12 Submission of Interim Report

Legend: Progress Milestone

25
The overall plan for Final Year Project 1 as shown in TABLE VII.

TABLE VII. Gantt Chart of Final Year Project 2

No. Detail/Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
1 Project Work Continues
2 Submission of Progress Report
3 Project Work Improvement
4 Prototyping
4 Pre-SEDEX
5 Submission of Draft Final Report
6 Submission of Dissertation (SoftBound)
7 Submission of Technical Paper
8 Viva
9 Submission of Dissertation (HardBound)

Legends : Progress Milestone

26
 CHAPTER 4

RESULT & DISCUSSION

4.1. OVERVIEW

This section demonstrates the result for each segment of the prototype including:

1. Transmitter circuit
2. Coil design
3. Testing and result

The theoretical calculation and computer simulation to determine the values for the
components and then used to confirm the actual results tested from the circuit board.
The theoretical and actual result is compared for each of the segments.

4.2. TRANSMITTER CIRCUIT

4.2.1. Simulation Prototype

The simulation result was based on the design of Fig. 13. It was simulated using
Proteus simulation software. In this setup, the oscillator was designed to give 800
kHz. The square wave was generated by the oscillator is then amplified through the
half-H driver which then transmitted using an inductor, L1 which is a representation
of the transmitter coil.

The Fig. 14 obtained from the oscilloscope where the blue coloured square wave in
showed the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) generated by the timer, 555 at 800 kHz.
On the other hand, the green coloured square wave showed the amplified signal
produced by the half-H driver, L293d. The amplified signal was ranged from +12 V
to 0 V. With that, the condition for WPT with oscillator and half-H driver were
verified by simulation and proceeded with practical application.

27
 FIGURE 13. Proteus Simulation of the Transmitter Circuit

5 VPK-PK

12 VPK-PK
1 μs/div

FIGURE 14. Oscilloscope Result of the 555 Timer Output and L293d Output

4.2.2. Practical Prototype

The circuit shown in Fig. 15 was assembled based on Fig. 13. The component for
simulation and practical application may be slightly different. The NE 555 oscillator
was replaced by the TLC 555 oscillator which performed better at higher frequencies
as NE 555 was limited to 100 kHz. The reason was that the frequency rating of TLC
555 timer was up to 1 MHz. Heat sinks were attached to the voltage regulator,
7812A and 7805A to prevent overheat as seen in Fig. 15. At this stage, the circuit
was supplied using DC supply where the input voltage emulated the solar PV output
voltage rating as shown in Table III. The Fig. 16 shows the oscillator output at

28
805.272 kHz at 0-5 Vpk-to-pk. Besides that, Fig. 17 shows the amplified voltage
using L293d and transmitted using Tx. Coil shown in Fig. 17. This shows the
transmitter circuit performed as expected.

Rx. Coil
Tx. Coil
L293d, half-H
Driver

Illuminating
LED

Oscillator

FIGURE 15. Hardware Prototype

5 VPK-PK

1 μs/div

FIGURE 16. The Oscillator Output with 805.27 kHz

12 VPK-PK

1 μs/div

FIGURE 17. The L293d Output with Amplified Voltage of 12 V

29
4.3. COIL DESIGN

The coil specification is listed in Table V and the inductance of the coil setup was
calculated in Eq. (17). In practice, the coil was hand wound due to unavailable
winding machine. The coils' characteristics were measured using the FLUKE
Automatic RCL Meter including the inductance, resistance and Q-factor of the coils.
The outcome is tabulated in Table VIII.

TABLE VIII. Measured Coil Specification

Details Inductance, μH Resistance, Ω Q-Factor
Tx. 3.9 0.05 0.487
Measured
Rx. 3.9 0.05 0.487

From Table VIII, the value of inductance deviated by 2.3% from the calculated
inductance of 3.99 μH. The resistance of the coil is 0.05 Ω to be to avoid any
significant effect on the performance of the WPT. The Q-factor is subjected to the
size and shape of the coil because it is related to resistance and inductance of the coil.

4.4. TESTING AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULT

4.4.1. Testing

The testing method of this system included voltage and current measurement in the
receiver side against distance. The starting distance between transmitter and receiver
coil is 0 cm which both of the coils are touching. Whereas the maximum distance
between transmitter and receiver coil is 6 cm as it would be suffice for performance
testing. Each incremental step is 1 cm.

30
 4.4.2. Experimental Result

Table IX shows the experimental results of voltage and current measured against
distance. The measurements were collected at the receiver. The Fig. 18 and Fig. 19
show the graph of voltage & current and power against distance based on Table IX.

TABLE IX. Results of Voltage (V) and Current (A) based on Distance (cm)
Distance (cm) Voltage (VP-P) Voltage (VDC) Current (A)
0 10.0 5.0 0.194
1 8.0 5.0 0.046
2 7.0 5.0 0.03
3 6.4 4.5 0.019
4 5.9 3.7 0.013
5 3.7 1.7 0.009
6 2.6 0.6 0.007

Voltage (V) & Current (A) against Distance (cm)

20 0.2
18 0.18
Voltage
16 0.16
14 0.14
Current (A)
Voltage (V)

12 0.12
10 0.1
8 0.08
6 0.06
4 0.04
2 0.02
0 -5E-16
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Distance (cm)

FIGURE 18. Graph of Voltage (V) & Current (mA) against Distance (cm)

31
 Power (W) against Distance (cm)
1.2
1

Power (W)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Distance (cm)

FIGURE 19. Graph of Power (W) against Distance (cm)

4.5. DISCUSSION

From the Fig. 18, the WPT system appears to be working satisfactorily at distances
less than 4 cm where it achieved the minimum DC voltage of 3.7 V to charge a
mobile application. However, the voltage decays exponentially as the distance
increased because the magnetic field strength decreased as the distance increased.
The current decays exponentially when the distance increased. This is also correlated
to the magnetic field strength. The power measured highest, 0.97 W at 0 cm, where
the current is highest. The power continues to decrease as the distance increase. This
is due to low current supplied from the source. This limits the distance of the WPT
system. This is because to generate a strong and wide magnetic field, a greater
current is needed because magnetic field is proportional to current as seen in Eq. (2).

Several improvements can be made to improve the performance of the system. First,
increase the input power can improve the power received by receiver side and the
distance as current is correlated with magnetic field. Besides that, a current amplifier
could increases the performance at the receiver side. In addition, a redesign coil can
amplify the electromagnetic force at the receiver side, according to Faraday's Law of
Magnetic Induction.

32
 CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION

5.1. CONCLUSION

The objective of understanding the principle behind the wireless power transmission
using the magnetic resonance coupling technique is achieved. A comprehensive
literature review has been revised to analyze the previous works of magnetic
resonance coupling theory and technique.

Furthermore, to develop a working prototype of magnetic resonance coupled wireless

power transmission using solar energy as input was also accomplished. The
prototype has successfully charged a mobile phone using solar energy at 4 cm. In
addition, analysis and testing has been conducted on the magnetic resonance
coupling based on two parameters: efficiency and distance.

In conclusion, this research on wireless power transmission using PV module has

been investigated and interpreted comprehensively through prototype demonstration
and experimentation. The theoretical study and experiment result have proved the
energy transmission is viable using resonance magnetic coupling and will excite
more applications in the future.

5.2. RECOMMENDATION OF FUTURE WORKS

The integration of these two fields, wireless power transmission and solar energy, is
still underdeveloped which is part of the motivation of this objective. There are
ample of spaces for further enhancement. For future study, study on charging
multiple load devices can improve the usability of the system. Besides that, research
on power efficiency, critical coupling can be conducted to improve the system's
practicality and reduce the power losses. Furthermore, coil design for better
efficiency can be one of the research areas.

33
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35
APPENDICES

APPENDIX I: Partial datasheet of L7800 Series Voltage Regulator

APPENDIX II: Partial datasheet of TLC 555 Timer

I
APPENDIX I: Partial datasheet of L7800 Series Voltage Regulator
URL: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0243/7593/files/l7805.pdf
(pg. 4, figure 5: DC Parameter)

APPENDIX II: Partial datasheet of TLC 555 Timer

URL: http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tlc555-q1.pdf
(pg. 9, figure 4: Astable Operation)

II