~

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 3 I , NO. I, JANUARYIFEBRUARY 1995 21

Contactless Power Delivery System

for Mining Applications
K. W. Klontz, Senior Member, IEEE, D. M. Divan, Senior Member, IEEE,
D. W. Novotny, Fellow, IEEE, and R. D. Lorenz, Senior Member, IEEE

Abstracf- The ability to transfer large amounts of electrical

power (up to 1 MW) to a moving load has traditionally used
means that are unreliable, inefficient, and potentially unsafe.
These include sliding or rolling metal contacts, sliding carbon
brushes, and trailing cables. More recently, flat inductively cou-
pled coils have been used to help mitigate these problems. Except
for the inductively coupled coils, these techniques have not been
developed with the capabilities of power electronicsin mind. This
paper presents the first conceptual descriptionof a power delivery
system design unifying power electronics and a coaxial-winding
transformer for devices that require a contactless connection
and/or relative motion while delivering large amounts of power.
The transformers unique characteristics and how they might
be used to advantage in combination with power electronics are Secondary
emphasized. Potential applicationsare flexible power distribution, Conductor(s)
material handling, electric vehicle boost, and battery opportunity Fig. 1. Basic coaxial winding transformer.
recharge. Test results of a small scale prototype are presented
and verify these initial concepts.
applications, except the core is used beyond the linear region.
I. INTRODUCTION
For clarity, we will refer to the inner cable(s) as the primary
winding, and the outer conductor(s) as the secondary winding.
P OWER delivery to moving loads usually includes sliding
contact by metal-to-metal and carbon brush connection
or trailing cable. Problems with the moving components result
Applications with the roles of primary and secondary reversed
are entirely feasible.
An essential element of mobile mining equipment is the
from wear, exposed live conductors, loss of good connection, need for high power density, and it is well documented that
and thermal cycling [ 11. power density of a core is directly proportional to frequency.
Inductive coupling across an air gap is a contactless means The CWT design is useful and novel because it simultaneously
of delivering power to a load. One inductive coupling method possesses three key features:
uses flat coils coupled across a planar air gap 121, [3]. Problems
1) ideally suited for high frequency applications [5],
associated with this technique are primarily economic: need for
2) can be configured for contactless relative motion be-
embedded coils along path of travel, need for fast, accurate
tween the primary and secondary windings, and
air gap control, and the need for two large area flux collection
3) can deliver significant amounts of power.
surfaces [4].
An alternative inductive coupling method uses windings It is to be noted that use of CWTs for contactless power
in a coaxial arrangement, with both windings surrounded by delivery is an emerging technology. The implementation of a
a ferromagnetic core. We will refer to this as a Coaxial full-scale experimental system remains as future work to fully
Winding Transformer (CWT), since the distributed current of demonstrate the practicality of this power delivery concept.
the outer conductor coaxially surrounds the current of the inner When the primary winding of the CWT is configured in
conductor. Fig. 1 shows a single phase arrangement, with a a long loop, it is possible to have the secondary winding,
CWT on both out-going and return conductors and is, in form, core assembly, secondary circuit and load in relative linear
a current transformer. The transformer concepts presented here motion along the loop axis (see Fig. 2). This paper proposes
can be likened to conventional current transformer theory a contactless power delivery system using a one turn primary
for instrument, relaying and radio frequency power supply loop operating at an internal system frequency of 400-5000
Hz. Input and output power electronic converters make the
Paper PID 94-27, approved by the Mining Industry Committee of the high frequency part of the system transparent to the source
IEEE Industry Applications Society for presentation at the 1991 Industry
Applications Society Annual Meeting, Dearbom, MI, Sept. 28-Oct. 4. This and the load.
project has been funded by Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA, Four mining industry applications for potential near-term
Project No. RF 2918-16. Manuscript released for publication June 30, 1994. use of this power delivery technique are:
The authors are with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineer-
ing, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 USA. 1) flexible power distribution
E E E Log Number 9406624. 2) haulage and trolley equipment
0093-9994/95$04.00 0 1995 IEEE
28 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 31, NO. 1, JANUARYFEBRUARY 1995

Cores Load Load

SOUrCe
Fig. 2. CWT with movable secondary circuit.
Coaxial Winding
3) electric vehicle boost, and Transformer
4) battery opportunity recharge. (a)
These applications are illustrated in Fig. 3(a)-(c), and
summarized in Section IX. The feasibility of the concepts Control Actuator, k,
being presented here will be illustrated with a representative
design example using multiple mining shuttle cars as the
Power Transfer
W/A
typical load.
11. SYSTEMDESIGNOVERVIEW
A system block diagram is shown in Fig. 4, illustrating one
of several primary loop segments connected in series to the
primary converter output. The primary side ac/ac converter is
supplied from a mining power center and provides regulated Secondary/
high-frequency voltage and current to the CWT via the one- Controller
loop primary circuits. The portion of the primary circuit not
within the toroidal core can be considered a simple feeder
cable, with the primary winding connection points being at
(b)
the two ends of the CWT. The magnetic coupling inside the
coaxial core enables energy transfer without primary cable Primary
contact. The secondary side converter uses the CWT as its
source to create the desired voltage (or current), frequency
and phase for the load. Its design is an additional degree of
IJ
argelboost
freedom (Section VI). To illustrate the concepts presented here,
a power delivery system is designed with calculations for both
continuously mobile and clamp-on CWTs. For continuously
moving loads, the CWT moves with the load and radial
clearance is required, which we shall call the interwinding
space (see Fig. 5(c)), and is not to be confused with an air gap
(if any) in the circumferential flux path. The clamp-on CWT
is portable, but not intended to be continuously moving along
CWS
O& i
the primary cable. Its load typically would be attached to the
CWT, e.g., lights, or connected by a short trailing cable. The
clamp-on CWT only requires interwinding space for insulation
and protection for rugged use. For the design example, the
shuttle car load requirements are taken to be the following.
Loads:
%! Dual Mode Vehicles

or Loads
Rating: 100 kW each, 10 units
Duty cycle: 100% (c)

Frequency: 0 (dc) Fig. 3 . (a) Flexible power distribution application with contactless clamp-on
pick-up. (b) Haulage and conveying applications. (c) Application for au-
Voltage: 600 tonomous electric vehicles and opportunity rechargeiboost.
Path Length: 1 km,in 5 segments
High Frequency Source: 111. COAXIAL. WINDINGTRANSFORMER
Rating: 1 MW total The moving, inductively coupled transformer winding is the
Frequency: 2000 Hz crucial link providing contactless power delivery to a moving
Cable Current Density: 200 amp/cm2 load. The coaxial nature of the CWT design enables use of
Secondary Current Density: 400 amp/cm2. high frequencies and results in high power densities. It is
KLONTZ et al.: CONTACTLESS POWER DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR MINING APPLICATIONS
Coaxial
Winding
Transf Secondary
Conductor / Conductor
JLI
7-
motion
Fig. 4. System block diagram.
Hi
(C)
Fig. 5. (a) Gapless core. (b) Core with gap in flux path. (c) Cut core, hinged
for zero effective gap.
especially important to understand the CWT characteristics
related to these features.
Two C W T core configurations are: 1) toroidal, gapless core
(see Fig. 5(a)), and 2 ) C core, with an air gap in the cores
circumferential magnetic flux path (see Fig. 5(b)). In the first
case, the core is captive and not easily detached from the
primary cable. In the second case, the core is easily removed
from the primary cable. A composite is a cut, hinged core
opened to uncouple from the primary cable, or closed around
the primary cable to eliminate any air gap (see Fig. 5(c)),
a technique used for clamp-on ammeters. To present these
initial concepts, this paper will limit its scope to a CWT
without a gap in the flux path. Movement past fixed primary
cable supports requires momentary opening for a hinged core,
momentary separation from the support for a closed core, or a
29
-
Lleakage
Outer
Conductor
Inner m G n d u c t o r
Fig. 6. Asymmetric equivalent circuit of coaxial winding transformer.
Fig. I . CWT dimensions.
fixed air gap, all of which will be addressed in future work. The
contactless couplehncouple procedure is directly analogous to
connect/disconnect of metal-to-metal contacts.
A. Equivalent Circuit and Leakage Inductance
The CWT equivalent circuit is asymmetric (see Fig. 6), since
there is essentially 100% linkage of the primary current by the
magnetic flux of the secondary winding, but not vice versa [6].
Any meaningful inductance on the secondary side will be due
to the external circuit.
The CWT characteristic, making it well suited for high cur-
rent throughput and high frequency converters, is its unusually
low leakage inductance [ 5 ] . The leakage inductance per axial
meter of core, determined as for a coaxial transmission line,
(l), is insensitive to the interwinding space parameter, (2),
(see Fig. 7).
where,
N I primary turns,
7-2i radius of the distributed secondary current sheet,
7-1 the primary cable outer radius, and
,uo permeability of free space (47r x lO-%/m).
The leakage inductance per axial meter for a range of values
of K is shown in Fig. 8, where it is seen that the leakage
inductance increases slowly with K , and is less than 1 pWm.
Thus, space for relative motion is readily provided.
30 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 31, NO. 1, JANUARYFEBRUARY 1995

TABLE I
WINDINGTRANSFORMER
COAXIAL DATAkW: 100 EACH(10 UNITS)
2000 HZ, 1 PHASE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
FREQUENCY:
200 PRIMARY
VOLTAGE: AND SECONDARY CURRENT:500
0.5 k W 100 each (10 units)
m Frequency: 2000 Hz 1 phase
g om4 Rimmy and Sscondary Voltage: 200
E- 0.3 Primarymds-daTyCurrent: 500
g)0.2
3 0.1 &?I&
5
cb?.l
1.22
I I
3 00 30 30
5 10 15 20 25
6.5 3.3
Secondary to Primary Conductor Ratio, K 13.0 6.6
Fig. 8. Leakage inductance, L1, as a function of interwinding space. 4120.4 1803.7
29.03 12.07
1.38 1.38
The leakage inductance is insensitive to the axis of the 30.41 13.45
primary cable relative to the core assembly axis. This very 3.26 7.40
important characteristic results in less stringent requirements 24.04 55.20
for the position controller (see Fig. 3(b)). Thus, with any or 0.039 0.033
all of the relative winding movement suggested, the effect on 2.05 4.93
CWT leakage inductance is negligible.
The power density is independent of the core axial length
B. Magnetizing Inductance since the transformer voltage, hence power, and volume both
The magnetizing inductance for a core length, l,, assuming increase linearly with core length. However, for a specified
no air gaps in the cores circumferential flux path, is power rating, it can be shown there is a core length, l C , for
which the power density is maximum. This will result in
an extremely long, thin core when the primary to secondary
(3) current ratio is near unity. Up to this optimum, the longest
acceptable core, with minimum core radius, should be used to
where, achieve maximum power density since the power density will
p core permeability, be dominated by core weight. For the design example, a core
T,, core outer radius, length of 30 cm is chosen as the maximum acceptable for each
T,; core inner radius, and of the two cores shown in Fig. 4.
1, axial core length.
As with all power delivery transformers, it is desirable D. CWT Dimensions and Characteristic Values
to have the magnetizing inductance as large as possible to
The radial dimensions can be calculated by beginning with
minimize magnetization current. Thus, on the merits of L ,
the innermost dimension, the radius of the primary cable, T I
only, we would tend to want a large 1, resulting in a long, thin
in Fig. 7, and working outwards. Equation (4) indicates the
core for a given core area.
power density is inversely proportional to the average core
radius when the core weight term is much larger than the
C. Power Density copper weight term of the denominator. The average core
The power density per unit weight is found by expressing radius is related to the primary and secondary ampere-turns, as
both power and weight in terms of the given parameters and well as the interwinding space, since the core surrounds both
taking the ratio. For sinusoidal root-mean-square values, unity windings, and necessarily must also enclose any interwinding
power factor, and negligible magnetizing current and losses it space. The tradeoff in having a large interwinding space value,
can be shown the power density is K , is that the volume of core material, hence weight, increases
with the square of the average radius of the core and power
density decreases.
The desired interwinding space is dependent on the CWT
application. For continuously moving loads (see Fig. 3(b) and
where, the new variables are 3(c)), sufficient interwinding space must be provided so the
CWT guide can position the core assembly along the primary
f frequency (Hz),
without contact. For the clamp-on device (see Fig. 3(a)), the
B, peak flux density (T),
only need for interwinding space is insulation and physical
pwst-core core density (kg/m3),
protection.
pwgtVcu copper density (kg/m3), and K = 5 and K = 1.22 are appropriate values for the mobile
J2 secondary circuit current density.
and clamp-on CWT, respectively. Using realistic material con-
KLONTZ et al.: CONTACTLESS POWER DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR MINING APPLICATIONS 31

200m per Low inductance

Segment Coaxial Power Cable
c!am+?n
6512
... 0.16
I 1 1 1 0.033
8.2
One Tum 0.4tlod unit
Loops 0.833 +j207
Fig. 9. Segmented power delivery system. 1117
500
stants, Appendix A, CWTs rated for 100 kW are characterized
m
by the data of Table I.
CWT cores over both outgoing and retum cables. Parameters
IV. PRIMARY
CONDUCTOR are given in Table 11, assuming each of the five segments has
Each segments primary cable is taken to be a one turn two 100-kW loads, which appear in series.
loop (see Fig. 9). A likely system configuration would be a
series of loops along a consistent vehicle path, similar to trolley V. PRIMARYSIDEPOWERELECTRONICS
cables, but with low tension, insulated cables, and no inherent Unlike normal distribution systems, this approach is very
need for direct ohmic contact between mobile and stationary heavily dependent on power electronics to achieve its system
components. A unique and important characteristic, as viewed level objectives. Starting from conventional three-phase, 60
from the high frequency input, is virtually no effect due to Hz power, a high frequency (e.g., 2 kHz) current is needed for
1) primary cable axis position relative to CWT core axis, the primary cable loop. At the power levels of interest, i.e., >
2) the CWT position along the loop, and 1 MW, the most cost effective approach involves a thyristor
3) the clearance between the primary cable and CWT. rectifier on the input side to convert the ac input to a dc current
Minimization of stray fields necessitate close spacing be- source. If utility side power factor and harmonic interactions
tween the outgoing and return cable, a feature that makes the are a concern, the use of harmonic filters for reactive and
two section core attractive, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 4. harmonic compensation is an industry-wide standard practice.
The inductance of each primary cable loop is considered to Alternatively, more advanced GTO-based force-commutated
be in series with the CWT leakage inductance and is input rectifiers can be used.
The dc current source feeds a current source inverter (CSI)
Lloop = -1n
;: (): - perm which switches at the desired high frequency. Two important
considerations govern the choice of converter topology for
where D is the lateral spacing. Insensitivity to cable size high frequency operation.
or spacing but linear dependence on length is indicated by First, at the operating frequency the primary cable
(5). The spacing, D,is fixed by the core dimensions, with impedance is dominantly inductive. From Table 11, the
2rc0 being the minimum for a centered cable. The fixed loop inductive impedance for a 200-m segment of primary cable
impedance is is 2-3 $2, as opposed to a resistive component of 33 mfl,
indicating the cable is highly reactive. Consequently, operating
the system at 500 A, corresponding to 200 kW, suggests the
where each load unit is the primary-referred equivalent resis- inductive component of the cable requires 700 kVARs to
tance at rated output. When the reactive term is large, the energize it. For the entire system, with a 1-MW rating, this
loop input impedance varies linearly with loop length and corresponds to an inverter rating of 3.5 MVA. Over-rating the
frequency but only logarithmically with spacing, motivating inverter can be avoided by using a resonant inverter topology
segmentation of the primary into several short loops, thereby [7]. The inductance of the cable is compensated using a
reducing the required input voltage. In the design example, parallel capacitor connected across the inverter output (Fig.
loop input voltage for one large segment is over 7 kV, while 10). The VAR requirements are then supplied by the capacitor,
only 1.4 kV with five segments. and the inverter only needs to supply the real power needed
The primary cable resistance dominates the power loss of by the system. The most appropriate topology seems to be a
the entire system, as in other power transmission systems. For current fed series output parallel resonant (SOPR) inverter.
a given current density, J1,primary current, i 1 , and total length This type of inverter is extensively used in induction heating
per segment, Iloop, the resistance and power loss are applications at similar frequencies.
Secondly, inverters switching at high frequencies are nor-
Pcu J1
Rpri = - 1211 ~ ~ ~ (7) mally limited by the switching losses incurred in the devices.
The use of appropriate resonant topologies allows device
9 0 , s = Pcu J1 1lloop . (8)
switching near zero voltage or current points, resulting in sig-
Design example calculations are based on five 200-m loop nificantly lower switching losses and correspondingly higher
segments, with 400 m total primary cable length in each, and frequencies [8].
32 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 31, NO. 1, JANUARYIEBRUARY 1995

in resonance based on the circuit inductance, including load

inductance, the secondary conductor inductance should be kept
constant so as not to affect the resonant frequency of the
circuit. Fortunately, this is consistent with the design goals
of minimizing trailing cables and mobile hardware.

Thyriitor High Frequency

input Stage Current source Transformer VIII. SYSTEM BASEDDESIGN
Inverter (opt-)
The nature of system based design is to consider tradeoffs
Fig. 10. System diagram with CSI and output transformer.
in the context of overall system performance. This section
TABLE lII will discuss those characteristics unique to CWT use in a con-
PRIMARY SIDE CONVERTER DATA tactless power delivery system, and which tend to impact the
Mshilc s&?n design throughout the system, besides those already discussed.
Mw 1.o 1.o
1117
895 A. Maintainability and Reliability
m The forgiving nature of the system with respect to the
1
primary cable position greatly reduces demands on the system
TABLE IV in several ways: physical stress of primary cable, performance
RESONANTCAPACITOR
DATA requirements of the core position guide, and insensitivity to
MQbk CLanaMn abnormal conditions, discussed below. The elimination of
w
Voltage (Vac)
3.7
1441
5.1
1117
abrasion and wearing surfaces is ensured by a simple core
guiding system for mobile loads. Since the system performance
(3umnt 500 500 is insensitive to primary cable position within the core window,
maintaining exact position and tension of the primary is not
The primary side converter output requirements for the de- required. Exposed live conductors are completely eliminated
sign example are listed in Table 111. The necessary capacitance with the use of conventional insulated cables.
for a resonant frequency, fr, is

when the CWT and secondary inductances are negligible
compared to the loop inductance. Calculation for the design
example results in the data of Table IV.
VI. SECONDARY SIDE POWER ELECTRONICS
The converter on the secondary side of each CWT con-
ditions the power in terms of voltage or current regulation,
phase change, and frequency control. The last is needed to
convert the high frequency at the transformer to the utilization
frequency or dc.
The secondary side converter design may be complex to
provide voltage boost, frequency change, phase change, and
inner loop control; it may be a simple ac/dc rectifier bridge
with filter; or it may be eliminated when voltage, current, phase
and frequency are at usable values. For the segmented system
described, the secondary side converters are small rectifier
networks and located on each shuttle car.
VII. SECONDARY
CONDUCTOR
The tubular conductor at the inner surface of the core is
a portion of the secondary conductor loop. The remaining
portion consists of wiring from a connection at the secondary
coaxial conductor to the load, the path within the load, and the
wiring to the other end of the coaxial conductor of the core.
The effect of the inductance of this part of the circuit
determines the importance of the proximity of the load to the
CWT device, which could conceivably be directly attached to
the ferromagnetic core. Because the primary loop is operated
B. Economic Issues
A power delivery system using a CWT differs from metal-
to-metal contact systems in that maintenance cost should be
much lower. It differs from the flat coil inductively coupled
system, which has a portion of the core stationary (in the
roadway) and a portion mobile, in that stationary hardware is
minimal and capital costs are lower. For the CWT discussed
here, all of the core and secondary circuit is mobile, with only
the primary cable stationary. The tradeoff is that a mobile
CWT always uses its entire core, whereas any stationary core
material must be included along the entire primary loop, with
only a tiny fraction usefully active at any time.
The simple requirements of the core guiding system and
couple/uncouple procedure ensure low cost realizability, while
simultaneously enhancing the ruggedness of the moving hard-
ware. The relatively slow transport speeds used in the mining
industry further assure simple guiding requirements.
The cost for high efficiency is mostly in the initial capital
costs, especially for the primary loop circuit. Overall system
losses increase with current density and conductor current, (8),
so a higher efficiency system requires more conductor material.
A controlled thyristor input at the primary converter provides
full regenerative energy recovery.
C. Abnormal Conditions
The power delivery system must be able to withstand
electrical faults and physical damage. This includes the ability
to ride through minor disturbances, and safely detect and
protect from major problems.

KLONTZ et al.: CONTACTLESS POWER DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR MINING APPLICATIONS
In the event of a severe fault in a high-frequency system,
fault clearance is much faster than at conventional frequencies,
e.g., 1/2 cycle is 250 ps for 2000 Hz, compared to 8 ms for
60 Hz. A favorable feature of a load resonant system is that
the circuit presents a high impedance to the source for a short
circuit at the load, and can deliver no more than rated current
to a load fault.
An open circuit situation at the CWT secondary will force
the CWT core into extreme saturation and overheating, similar
to conventional current transformers. Detection and protection
can be provided at the CWT by monitoring for overvoltage
and, upon detection, switching in a fail-safe shunt circuit to
limit secondary voltage to acceptable levels.
A transformer in the primary circuit can provide electrical
isolation of the primary loop from the utility grid. When
necessary or desirable, it can be used for voltage change to
allow converter operation at the most economic level.
Abnormal conditions must necessarily include environmen-
tal and physical problems. The CWT has the following char-
acteristics enabling it to withstand abuse:
1) Insensitivity to interwinding space allows for as much
physical protection material as needed.
2) Interwinding space and motion encourage efficient heat
removal.
3) The secondary converter can be mounted in a suitable
enclosure on the mobile load, and can be made as
immune to heat, shock and moisture as needed.
IX. POTENTIALAPPLICATIONS
Four applications in the mining industry have potential for
near-term use of this novel power delivery technique: flexible
power distribution, material handling, autonomous electric
vehicle boost, and opportunity recharge, illustrated in Fig.
3(a)-(c) [9]. In each application, the primary loop is fixed in
position, with load connection made by the clamp-on action,
or load mobility enabled by guiding the CWT along the loop.
The flexible power delivery system uses a clamp-on CWT
(see Fig. 3(a)). For a 100-kW load, the CWT weighs about 14
kg. To plug-in a power tool of 1 kW to the same system
requires a device of less than 0.2 kg, and is readily achieved
without direct electrical contact or exposed live conductors.
The CWT can be used in lieu of power center couplers, and has
the potential to minimize trailing cables of portable equipment.
For haulage and conveying of material or people (see Fig.
3(b) and (c)), bi-directionality, regenerative energy recov-
ery, close headway operation, fail-safe mode, reconfiguration
flexibility, and contactless power transfer can be readily incor-
porated into the design. Specific uses in this category include
elevators, palletized containers, haulage electric vehicles such
as shuttle cars, loaders, and mobile conveyors.
With on-board battery storage, an autonomous electric ve-
hicle could operate either coupled or uncoupled to the primary
loop (see Fig. 3(c)). Also, equipment could operate coupled to
the power system for electric boost during peak load, and
use an on-board engine-generator or battery at other times.
A fourth application is battery recharge during opportune
times (see Fig. 3(a) and (c)). The flexible distribution feature
~
33
TABLE V
TESTCOAX~AL TRANSFORMER
WINDING DATA
K 20.2
length (d 2.54
height (an) 8.89
width (an) 8.89
Wgt(kg) 0.557
Vol (cm3) 92.5
R i m q Loop Ampere-- (m)
Fig. 11. CWT power delivery.
of clamp-on coaxial transformers enables portable electrical
equipment with storage batteries to be recharged in situ, and
while simultaneously operating at full load. Work breaks and
loading time of moving equipment such as shuttle cars are
examples of opportune times for battery recharge.
X. MEASURED
DATA
A small-scale proof of concept experiment was conducted in
the laboratory. A 2000-Hz sinusoidal primary current provid-
ing 138 A-turns was circulated in a loop through a CWT of the
dimensions listed in Table V. The CWT consisted of a single
toroidal core, made from 1-mil amorphous metallic glass tape,
encircling a copper tubular secondary winding and the primary
cable. Fig. 11 shows data for increasing primary loop current,
holding the CWT load resistance fixed. As expected, the power
output initially increases quadratically with current, then less
than quadratic as the core saturates. The output power test
was limited by the laboratory power supply, with the CWT at
saturation voltage, but less than maximum current. The data
shows successful delivery of significant power using a CWT
as discussed.
Table VI compares theoretical to measured results for power
densities for the CWT dimensions and primary ampere-turns
actually used in the test. For both parameters, the measured
values correlate well with the theoretical values. Higher power
levels are achieved by increasing the core cross-section (more
voltage) or primary loop current, with proportional decrease
in load impedance. The values are significantly lower than
the design example since high values of current could not be
achieved at 2000 Hz with the available laboratory equipment.
Projections show little difficulty in scaling this initial test
system to contactless delivery of 1 MW, or more. The CWT
concept is particularly amenable to scaling since leakage
flux, which increases in proportion to load current, does
not inherently enter the transformer core. A 50-kW, 50-kHz
34 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 31, NO. 1, JANUARYIEBRUARY 1995

TABLE VI [8] D. M. Divan, G. Venkataramanan, and R. De Doncker, Design method-

LABORATORY
DATA ologies for soft switched inverters, in Conf Rec. 1988 Ann. Meeting
eta MeaslHnp Ind. Applicat. Soc., pp. 75&766.
[9] J. M. Hillhouse, EVs downunder-Electric vehicles in mining, in
pwgt-dens (kwflrg) 0.80 0.75 Con5 Rec. I990 10th Int. Electric Vehicle Symp., Hong Kong.
Pvol-dens (w/cm3) 5.9 5.6

system using a CWT has previously been tested and reported
PI.
XI. CONCLUSION
The preceding discussion presented an introduction to a
new concept in contactless power delivery. Using a unique
combination of established technologies, a contactless power
delivery system using a coaxial winding transformer (CWT)
has been conceptualized which is simple, flexible, and durable.
The contactless power delivery concept includes a primary
side converter to regulate the power delivery and create high
frequency voltage and current for the transformer, a CWT
operating at high frequency, and a secondary side converter
to condition the transformer output to match the requirements
of the load. The use of high frequency with a highly reactive
primary cable loop make the load resonant converter topology
appear to be the best choice for the primary side converter.
Keith W. Klontz (M75SM90) received the B.S.
and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from the
University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, in 1974
and 1975, respectively.
He was an Assistant Design Engineer in the
Design Engineering Department of Duke Power
Company, Charlotte, NC, until 1980, when he joined
McHenry Electric Company, McHenry, IL. From
1980 to 1989, as Vice President-Engineering, he
managed the technical aspects of a large service
and sales center for industrial electric motors and
drives. He is currently working towards the Ph.D. degree at the University
of Wisconsin, Madison. He is co-inventer of four issued or pending U.S.
patents. His interests include electric vehicle propulsion and energy storage,
novel electromechanical energy conversion systems, power electronics and
power converter magnetics.
Mr. Klontz is past chairman of the Chicago Chapter of the Industry
Applications Society, recipient of the 1984 IEEE Centennial Medal, recipient
of the Top 25 Collegiate Invention Award of 1992 in a national competition,
and winner of the second prize paper at Power Conversion Conference,
Yokohama, in 1993. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Wisconsin
and Illinois.

APPENDIX
Design Constants for Example:
f 2000 Hz
fr 2500 Hz
Bm 1.4 T
Deepakraj M. Divan (S78-M78-S82-M83
Nl 1 SM91) received the B.Tech. degree in electrical
N2 1 engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology,
Pwgt-core 7.3 gm/cm3 (amorphous metallic Kanpur, in 1975. He received the M.Sc. and Ph.D.
degrees in electrical engineering from the University
glass) of Calgary, Canada.
Pwgt-cu 8.92 gm/cm3 He worked for two years as a Development
0.205 x lOP5R - cm Engineer with Philips India Ltd. In 1979, he started
Pcu his own concern in Pune, India, providing product
Pcore-loss 0.226 W/cm3 development and manufacturing services in the
tinsul 1 mm power electronics and instrumentation areas. In
PT lo5 (amorphous metallic glass) 1983, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University
of Alberta, Canada, as an Assistant Professor. Since 1985, he has been with
stacking factor 0.75. the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University
of Wisconsin, Madison, where he is presently a Professor. He is also an
REFERENCES Associate Director of the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics
Consortium (WEMPEC), a group of 53 industrial sponsors supporting
E. T. Bowers, Safety Aspects of Pneumatic Transport, Bureau of Mines research in the area of power electronics and machines. He is a consultant
Information Circular No. 9006, U.S. Dept. of Interior, pp. 6-20. for various organizations including the Electric Power Research Institute,
K. Lashkari, S. E. Schladover, and E. H. Lechner, Inductive power Oakridge National Laboratory, and is also working with several industries.
transfer to an electric vehicle, in Con$ Rec. 1986 8th Int. Electric His primary areas of interest are in power electronic converter circuits and
Vehicle Symp., Washington, D.C. control techniques. He has over 60 papers in the area as well as 12 patents.
E. H. Lechner and S. E. Schladover, The roadway powered electric Dr. Divan has been a recipient of the Killam Scholarship during his Ph.D
vehicle-An all-electric hybrid system, in ConJ Rec. 1986 8th Int. program and has also won various prize papers, including the IEEE-IAS Best
Electric Vehicle Symp., Washington, D.C. Paper Award for 1988-89, second prize paper at PCC-Yokohama 93, prize
S. E. Schladover, Systems engineering of the roadway powered electric papers for the Industrial Drives Committee in 1989 and 1991, the Industrial
vehicle technology, in Conf Rec. 1988 9th Int. Electric Vehicle Symp., Power Converter Committee in 1983, 1989, 1991, and 1993, and the Power
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Semiconductor Committee in 1990. He has been the Program Chairman for
M. H. Kheraluwala, D. W. Novotny, and D. M. Divan, Design the 1988 and 1989 Industrial Power Converter Committee of the IEEE-IAS,
considerations for high frequency transformers, in Con5 Rec. 1990 Transactions Review Chair for the committee in 1990 and 1991, and is
Power Electron. Specialists Con5 , pp. 734-742. presently Chairman of the Committee. He was Technical Program Chairman
H. L. N Weigemann, D. W. Novotny, D. M. Divan, and R. Mohan, A for PESC 91, and a Treasurer for PESC 89. He was Chairman of the Education
ZVS dual resonant converter for battery charging applications, in Con5 Committee in the IEEE Power Electronics Society during 1990 and 1991, an
Rec. 1991 Power Electron. Specialists Conf Adcom member since 1991, and is presently the Technical Vice President
F. C. Schwarz and J. B. Klaassens, Controllable 45-kW current source for the society. He is a member of the R & D Committee of the Power
for dc machines,IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 437-444, Sources Manufacturers Association and a member of the National Committee
July/Aug. 1979. on Power Electronics.
KLONTZ et al.: CONTACTLESS POWER DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR MINING APPI-ICATIONS
Donald W. Novotny (M62-SM77-F87) received
the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering
from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago,
in 1956 and 1957, and the Ph.D. degree from the
University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1961.
Since 1961 he has been a member of the faculty
at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he
is currently Grainger Professor of Power Electronics
and Co-director of the Wisconsin Electric Machines
and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC), an
educational and research support organization with
53 industry sponsors. He served as Chairman of the Electrical and Computer
Engineering Department from 1976 to 1980 and as an Associate Director
of the University-Industry Research Program from 1972 to 1974, and from
1980 to 1993. He has been active as a consultant to many organizations and
has also been a Visiting Professor at Montana State University, the Technical
University of Eindhoven, Eindhoven, Netherlands, the Catholic University
of Leuven, Belgium and a Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Ghent,
Belgium. He has published over 100 technical articles on electric machines,
variable frequency drives and power electronic control of industrial systems.
Dr. Novotny is a member of ASEE, Sigma Xi, Eta Kappa Nu and Tau
Beta Pi. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Wisconsin. Nine of his
technical articles on electric machines, variable frequency drives and power
electronic control of industrial systems have received prize paper awards from
the IEEE Industry Applications Society.
35
Robert D. Lorenz (S83-M84-SM91) received
the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1969, 1970, and
1984, respectively. In 1969-1970, he did his Mas-
ter thesis research at the Technical University of
Aachen, West Germany.
Since 1984 he has been a member of the faculty of
the University of Wisconsin, where he is Professor
of mechanical, electrical and computer engineering.
In this position he acts as Associate Director of the
Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics
Consortium and as CO-Director of the Advanced Automation and Robotics
Consortium. He was a Visiting Research Professor in the Electrical Drives
Group of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium and in the Electrical
Drives Institute of the Technical University of Aachen, West Germany, in
the summer of 1989 and the summers of 1987 and 1991, respectively.
From 1972 to 1982, he was a member of the research staff at the Gleason
Works, Rochester, NY. He is an active consultant to many organizations. His
current research interests include sensor integrated electromagnetic actuator
technologies, real time digital signal processing and estimation techniques, ac
drive, and high precision machine control technologies.
Dr. Lorenz is a member of the ASME, the ISA, and the SPIE. He is a Reg-
istered Professional Engineer in New York and Wisconsin. He is a Chairman
of the IEEE, Industry Applications Society Industrial Drives Committee, and
a member of the Industrial Automation and Control Committee, the Electrical
Machines Committee, and the Industrial Power Converter Committee.