Project: Superconducting Wireless Power Transfer (WPT)

Sponsor: N/A
Collaborators: N/A

proj10Wireless power transfer using electromagnetic induction is the process of using magnetic fields over a distance to induce current in a load by applying voltage to a nearby coil of wire. This could have many useful applications in the space environment, such as powering a lunar rover at the bottom of a shadowed crater from a central power transmitter, which would eliminate the need for the rover to carry batteries or another power source.

However, current wireless power transfer technology experiences significant losses. This project focuses on the use of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wire to minimize these losses. HTS wire has a resistivity of zero below its critical temperature and as such no Ohmic losses in principle occur. Wireless power transfer using non-superconducting wire and two types of HTS wire will be compared to measure the improved performance of HTS wire.