Loss and efficiency dependence of a 6.78 MHz, 100 W, 30 cm distance wireless power transfer system on cable types

In MHz operating wireless power transfer systems, skin- and proximity-effect losses in the transmitter and the receiver coils dominate the coil-to-coil efficiency of the system. A Litz-wire was regarded as a common solution for minimizing such Ohmic losses in high frequencies. In this paper, equivalent series resistances of 12 different cables including Litz-wire and copper tubing have been calculated and measured for a 6.78 MHz, 100W, 30 cm wireless power transfer system. It has been shown that the copper tubing has lower resistances compared to the Litz-wire in that frequency and a wireless power transfer system with the copper tubing was able to achieve much higher efficiency than a system using the Litz-wire. Calculations of the resistances and efficiencies were accomplished with analytical equations and those calculations were evaluated by experimental results.