Development of an asymmetric arc-shaped magnetic coupler for the AUV wireless charging system

The underwater wireless charging system can improve the endurance of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and extend their detection range. However, the magnetic couplers for the AUV wireless charging system are currently not very compatible with AUVs, have high electromagnetic interference, and have low power levels. The new asymmetric arc-shaped magnetic coupler proposed in this paper can fit the surface of an AUV without changing its hydrodynamic model, making it suitable for use in the AUV wireless charging system. The radial coupling scheme can effectively prevent electromagnetic interference of the internal component by limiting the magnetic flux outside the AUV. By building the magnetic circuit model of the magnetic coupler and optimizing its structural parameters, the magnetic coupler has good misalignment tolerance performance. To test the effectiveness of the magnetic coupler, a practical 3 kW prototype has been developed. Experiments show that the system can achieve effective power transmission under the AUV rotational misalignment ± 20° and axial misalignment ± 20 mm.