Interoperable EV detection for dynamic wireless charging with existing hardware and free resonance

The implementation of wireless charging for electric vehicles (EVs) in dynamic charging applications such as on highways requires extra hardware in both the vehicle and on the ground to detect the oncoming EV and energise the appropriate ground pads. A detection scheme is proposed in this paper that utilises free resonant currents in the pad windings to detect small changes in coupling between neighbouring ground pads as the EV moves over them. The detection scheme can be made to be interoperable with all magnetic pad topologies and utilises components that already exist on most popular electronic topologies. Experimental results demonstrating the vehicle detection with a dynamic charging system operating at 3.3 kW are presented.