Enhancing Wireless Power Transfer Efficiency Through Innovative Metamaterial Configurations for Electric Vehicles

This study investigates the enhancement of power transfer efficiency (PTE) in wireless power transfer (WPT) systems for electric vehicles (EVs) through simulations and experimental evaluations using metamaterial (MTM) configurations. The MTM model, validated against existing research, was designed for operation at 85 kHz. The influence of MTM on the magnetic field alignment and flux density at the receiver coil significantly improved PTE compared to systems without an MTM configuration. We tested various arrangements of three, six, and nine MTM cells positioned at left, right, top, bottom, and combined locations across coil distances of 0–5.0 cm. The results showed that a nine-cell MTM arrangement yielded greater PTE than a three-cell arrangement because of improved electromagnetic flux distribution. However, the T-shaped arrangement of six MTM cells achieved the maximum PTE at a 2.0 cm coil distance. This performance exceeded that of the configuration with 3 × 3 MTM cells, indicating that the T-shaped design optimizes electromagnetic flux distribution. The six-cell T-shaped arrangement boosted the PTE by 7.7% compared to the nine-cell version, demonstrating its potential as an innovative and efficient WPT system for future EV applications.