Commissioning and Control of a 10 kW Converter Prototype for Wireless Power Transmission

The electrification of construction machinery, such as excavators or dump trucks, has recently been gaining popularity due to numerous technical, economical, and ecological benefits. Therefore, concepts to replace hydraulic excavators actuators with electric counterparts are investigated at HPE. To enable bidirectional power flow to such electric actuators, wireless power transmission (WPT) is employed. Thereby, the mechanical durability is increased compared to brush rings or external cables, while maintenance requirements are reduced. In this project, you will commission the prebuilt WPT converter hardware, which consists of the primary and secondary PCBs as well as the WPT transformer. After validating the basic functionality of the system (isolation, switching, V&I measurements, etc.), you will develop safety and control mechanisms in VHDL to enable the full operation of the converter. Finally, you will make adjustments to the PCBs and/or WPT transformer for an improved prototype system based on your findings during operation.

The electrification of construction machinery, such as excavators or dump
trucks, has recently been gaining popularity due to numerous technical,
economical, and ecological benefits. Therefore, concepts to replace hydraulic
excavators actuators with electric counterparts are investigated at
HPE. To enable bidirectional power flow to such electric actuators, wireless
power transmission (WPT) is employed. Thereby, the mechanical
durability is increased compared to brush rings or external cables, while
maintenance requirements are reduced.
In this project, you will commission the prebuilt WPT converter hardware,
which consists of the primary and secondary PCBs as well as the WPT
transformer. After validating the basic functionality of the system (isolation,
switching, V&I measurements, etc.), you will develop safety and
control mechanisms in VHDL to enable the full operation of the converter.
Finally, you will make adjustments to the PCBs and/or WPT transformer
for an improved prototype system based on your findings during operation.

Simon Beck, ETL F12, beck@hpe.ee.ethz.ch

Simon Beck, ETL F12, beck@hpe.ee.ethz.ch

10% Control 10% Hardware Design 10% Simulation 35% Testing 35% VHDL Coding

10% Control
10% Hardware Design
10% Simulation
35% Testing
35% VHDL Coding

Interest and knowledge in power electronic systems, Interest and knowledge in hardware design, Working language: English/German

Interest and knowledge in power electronic systems, Interest and knowledge in hardware
design, Working language: English/German

Dr. Jürgen Biela

Dr. Jürgen Biela