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Key Technologies of Magnetically

Coupled Resonant Wireless Power


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Springer Theses
Recognizing Outstanding Ph.D. Research

Yiming Zhang

Key Technologies of
Magnetically Coupled
Resonant Wireless
Power Transfer
Springer Theses

Recognizing Outstanding Ph.D. Research


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Yiming Zhang

Key Technologies
of Magnetically Coupled
Resonant Wireless Power
Transfer
Doctoral Thesis accepted by
Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

123
Author Supervisor
Dr. Yiming Zhang Prof. Zhengming Zhao
San Diego State University Tsinghua University
San Diego Beijing
USA China

ISSN 2190-5053 ISSN 2190-5061 (electronic)


Springer Theses
ISBN 978-981-10-6537-8 ISBN 978-981-10-6538-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6538-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017959913

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018


This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
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The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore
Supervisor’s Foreword

Wireless power transfer (WPT) is one of the most promising technologies of power
supply. As an innovative means of power supply, WPT can be applied where the
conventional method is inconvenient, expensive, hazardous, or even impossible,
such as underwater, mine, consumer electronics, implantable medical devices,
electric vehicles, and high-voltage applications. WPT has attracted enormous
attention in the recent decade and will play an essential role in future energy
revolution.
This thesis describes the scientific achievements of Dr. Yiming Zhang, which
were made during his doctoral program in Department of Electrical Engineering,
Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. His research work covers a wide range of
topics about magnetically coupled WPT technology. From the perspectives of the
source, the transfer system, and the load, respectively, he discussed the impact of
reducing the operating frequency of the source on transfer efficiency, investigated
the frequency splitting phenomenon and its related factors, proposed three
multiple-load transfer structures, and studied the WPT systems with either a
constant-voltage load or a constant-current load. Overall, this thesis offers valuable
information on magnetically coupled WPT.

Beijing, China Prof. Zhengming Zhao


November 2017

v
Parts of this thesis have been published in the following articles:

Zhang Y., Zhao Z., Chen K. (2014) Frequency decrease analysis of resonant
wireless power transfer. IEEE Trans Power Electron. 29:1058–1063
(Reproduced with Permission).
Zhang Y., Zhao Z. (2014) Frequency splitting analysis of two-coil resonant wireless
power transfer. IEEE Antennas Wireless Propag Lett. 13:400–402 (Reproduced
with Permission).
Zhang Y., Zhao Z., Chen K. (2014) Frequency splitting analysis of four-coil resonant
wireless power transfer. IEEE Trans Ind Appl. 50:2436–2445 (Reproduced with
Permission).
Zhang Y., Lu T., Zhao Z., Chen K., He F., Yuan L. (2015) Wireless power transfer
to multiple loads over various distances using relay resonators. IEEE Microw
Wireless Compon Lett. 25:337–339 (Reproduced with Permission).
Zhang Y., Lu T., Zhao Z., He F., Chen K., Yuan L. (2015) Selective wireless power
transfer to multiple loads using receivers of different resonant frequencies. IEEE
Trans Power Electron. 30:6001–6005 (Reproduced with Permission).
Zhang Y., Lu T., Zhao Z., He F., Chen K., Yuan L. (2015) Employing load coils for
multiple loads of resonant wireless power transfer. IEEE Trans Power Electron.
30:6174–6181 (Reproduced with Permission).
Zhang Y., Chen K., He F., Zhao Z., Lu T., Yuan L. (2016) Closed-form oriented
modeling and analysis of wireless power transfer system with constant-voltage
source and load. IEEE Trans Power Electron. 31:3472–3481 (Reproduced with
Permission).
Zhang Y., Zhao Z., Chen K. (2013) Load matching analysis of magnetically-
coupled resonant wireless power transfer. In: Proceedings of 2013 ECCE Asia,
pp. 788–792 (Reproduced with Permission).
Zhang Y., Zhao Z., Jiang Y. (2017) Modeling and analysis of wireless power
transfer system with constant-voltage source and constant-current load. In:
Proceedings of 2017 ECCE, pp. 975–979 (Reproduced with Permission).

vii
Acknowledgements

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for my
supervisor Prof. Zhengming Zhao. He offered me the chance to enter the world of
power electronics and wireless power transfer. He led me to appreciate the beauty
of power electronics with his profound knowledge during his classes. He solved my
puzzles with his keen academic insight when I was confronted with difficulties in
research. He guided me with his rich life experiences to truly find myself and what I
am interested in. He supported me with all matters of the heart for my career. He is
an excellent teacher and a helpful friend. Under his guidance, I completed this
thesis. I cannot thank him enough.
I also owe my gratitude to Associate Professor Liqiang Yuan, Dr. Ting Lu, and
Dr. Fanbo He. They helped me unconditionally and guided me with constructive
comments throughout my research work. Many thanks to Mrs. Xiaoying Sun. She
is like a mom to all the group members. She helped me and supported me
wholeheartedly. Also, I would like to thank Technician Mr. Chunxiang Zhang. He
assisted me with his superb professional skills and rich engineering experiences.
Many thanks to our group members: Dr. Lu Yin, Dr. Gaoyu Zou, Dr. Kainan
Chen, Dr. Shiqi Ji, Dr. Junjie Ge, Dr. Sizhao Lu, Dr. Kai Li, and all the others for
their kind assistance and cooperation. It is a great pleasure to get acquainted with
them in Tsinghua University.
Last but not least, I would like to thank Tsinghua University for the extraordi-
nary academic atmosphere and superior conditions.

ix
Contents

1 Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1


1.1 Brief Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.2 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1.3 Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.4 Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2 Basic Structure and Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.1 Basic Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.2 Basic Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 Current Research Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.3.1 Power Electronics Converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.3.2 Matching Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.3 Coil Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.4 Transfer Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.3.5 Modelling and Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.3.6 Dynamic Wireless Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.3.7 Other Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.4 Contents of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2 Transfer Efficiency Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.1 Modelling and Derivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.1.1 Two-Coil Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.1.2 Four-Coil Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.2 Impact Factor Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.2.1 Load Matching Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.2.2 Transfer Quality Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.3 Reducing Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.3.1 Increasing Inductance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.3.2 Increasing Capacitance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

xi
xii Contents

2.4 Calculations and Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31


2.4.1 Load Matching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.4.2 Reducing Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 Frequency Splitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.1 Frequency Splitting of Two-Coil Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.1.1 At Resonant Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.1.2 Deviating from Resonant Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.1.3 Frequency Splitting Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2 Frequency Splitting of Four-Coil Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.2.1 At Resonant Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.2.2 Deviating from Resonant Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
3.2.3 Frequency Splitting Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.3 Frequency Splitting Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.3.1 Comparison of Two-Coil and Four-Coil Structure . . . . . . . 55
3.3.2 Output Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.3.3 System Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.4 Calculations and Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.4.1 Two-Coil Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.4.2 Four-Coil Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4 Multiple-Load Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
4.1 Using Intermediate Coils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
4.1.1 Modelling and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
4.1.2 Equal-Power Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.1.3 Calculations and Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
4.2 Selective Power Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.1 Theoretical Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.2 Modelling and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.3 Impact of Mutual Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.2.4 Calculations and Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3 Using Load Coils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.3.1 Single-Load Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.3.2 Multiple-Load Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4.3.3 Calculations and Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
5 Active Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.1 Constant-Voltage Load and Constant-Current Load . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.1.1 Constant-Voltage Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.1.2 Constant-Current Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Contents xiii

5.2 Primary and Secondary Resonance with Constant-Voltage


Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.2.1 Modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.2.2 Output Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
5.2.3 Transfer Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
5.2.4 Voltage Gain Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
5.3 Primary Inductiveness and Secondary Resonance
with Constant-Voltage Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
5.3.1 Zero Voltage Switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
5.3.2 Modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
5.3.3 Voltage Gain Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
5.3.4 Output Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.3.5 Transfer Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
5.3.6 Calculations and Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
5.4 Primary and Secondary Resonance with Constant-Current
Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.4.1 Modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.4.2 Output Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
5.4.3 Transfer Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
5.4.4 Transfer Admittance Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
5.4.5 Calculations and Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
6 Conclusion and Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.1 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.2 Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Nomenclature

a1 Phasor indicating square root of energy stored in transmitter


a2 Phasor indicating square root of energy stored in receiver
AS ejx0 t Phasor of driving source
C2 Resonant capacitance in sending loop
C3 Resonant capacitance in receiving loop
CRi Resonant capacitance of resonator i (i = 1,…,n)
C’ Resonant capacitance after increasing inductance
f Operating frequency
f0 Resonant frequency
f2 Resonant frequency of sending loop
f3 Resonant frequency of receiving loop
f31 Resonant frequency of Receiver 1
f32 Resonant frequency of Receiver 2
fRi Resonant frequency of Resonator i (i = 1,…,n)
FD Frequency deviation factor
FD2 Frequency deviation factor of sending loop
FD3 Frequency deviation factor of receiving loop
GU Voltage gain
I1 Current in source loop
I2 Current in sending loop
I3 Current in receiving loop
I31 Current of Receiver 1
I32 Current of Receiver 2
I3C Capacitor current in receiving loop
I3L Coil current in receiving loop
I4 Current of load coil
Ibat Battery current
Ibat-opt Optimal battery current
Iout Output current
Iout-max Maximum output current

xv
xvi Nomenclature

Irect Rectifier current


L1 Self-inductance of source coil
L2 Self-inductance of sending coil
L2M Main inductance of sending coil
L2r Leakage inductance of sending coil
L3 Self-inductance of receiving coil
L31 Self-inductance of Receiver 1
L32 Self-inductance of Receiver 2
L3r Leakage inductance of receiving coil
L4 Self-inductance of load coil
LM Load matching factor
LM1-opt Optimal load matching factor of Load 1
LM2-opt Optimal load matching factor of Load 2
LMi Load matching factor of Load i (i = 1,…,n)
LM-2C Load matching factor of two-coil structure
LM-4C Load matching factor of four-coil structure
LM-opt Optimal load matching factor to achieve maximum transfer efficiency
LM-tot Total load matching factor
LRi Self-inductance of Resonator i (i = 1,…,n)
L’ Self-inductance after increasing inductance
L’’ Self-inductance after increasing capacitance
M12 Mutual inductance of source coil and sending coil
M13 Mutual inductance of source coil and receiving coil
M14 Mutual inductance of source coil and load coil
M23 Mutual inductance of sending coil and receiving coil
M231 Mutual inductance of sending coil and Receiving Coil 1
M232 Mutual inductance of sending coil and Receiving Coil 2
M23’ Mutual inductance of sending coil and receiving coil after increasing
inductance
M23’’ Mutual inductance of sending coil and receiving coil after increasing
capacitance
M24 Mutual inductance of sending coil and load coil
M312 Mutual inductance of Receiving Coil 1 and Receiving Coil 2
M34 Mutual inductance of receiving coil and load coil
MRi(i+1) Mutual inductance of Resonator i and Resonator (i+1)
(i = 1,…,n − 1)
n Turn ratio
PF Power factor of transmitter
Pout Output power
Pout-max Maximum output power
Ptrn Transferred power from sending coil to receiving coil
Q2 Quality factor of receiving loop
Q3 Quality factor of receiving loop
R2 Equivalent resistance in sending loop
R3 Equivalent resistance in receiving loop
Nomenclature xvii

R31 Equivalent resistance in Receiver 1


R32 Equivalent resistance in Receiver 2
Rcap Equivalent resistance of capacitor
Rcap’ Equivalent resistance of capacitor after increasing inductance
Rcap’’ Equivalent resistance of capacitor after increasing capacitance
Rind Equivalent resistance of inductor
Rind’ Equivalent resistance of inductor after increasing inductance
Rind’’ Equivalent resistance of inductor after increasing capacitance
RL Equivalent resistance of load
RLi Equivalent resistance of Load i (i = 1,…,n)
RL-opt Optimal load resistance
RL-2C-opt Optimal load resistance of two-coil structure
RL-4C-opt Optimal load resistance of four-coil structure
RL1-opt Optimal load resistance of Load 1
RL2-opt Optimal load resistance of Load 2
Rref341 Reflected resistance from Load Coil 1 to receiving coil
RRi Equivalent resistance of Resonator i (i = 1,…,n)
RS Source internal resistance
R’ Equivalent resistance in resonant loop after increasing inductance
R’’ Equivalent resistance in resonant loop after increasing capacitance
SM Source matching factor
SM-2C Source matching factor of two-coil structure
SM-4C Source matching factor of four-coil structure
TQ Transfer quality factor of sending and receiving coils
TQ231 Transfer quality factor of sending coil and Receiving Coil 1
TQ232 Transfer quality factor of sending coil and Receiving Coil 2
TQi(i+1) Transfer quality factor of Resonator i and Resonator (i+1)
(i = 1,…,n − 1)
TQ’ Transfer quality factor of sending and receiving coils after increasing
inductance
TQ’’ Transfer quality factor of sending and receiving coils after increasing
capacitance
U2 AC voltage of inverter
U3 AC voltage of rectifier
Ubat Battery voltage
Ubus DC bus voltage of inverter
Uout Output voltage
Uout-max Maximum output voltage
US Voltage of source
X2 Reactance of sending loop
X3 Reactance of receiving loop
Y Transfer admittance
Z2 Impedance of sending coil and resonant capacitance
Z31 Impedance of Receiving Coil 1 and resonant capacitance
Z32 Impedance of Receiving Coil 2 and resonant capacitance
xviii Nomenclature

Zin Input impedance


Zref12 Reflected impedance from sending coil to source coil
Zref23 Reflected impedance from receiving coil to sending coil
Zref23 Reflected impedance from receiving coil to sending coil
Zref231 Reflected impedance from Receiving Coil 1 to sending coil
Zref232 Reflected impedance from Receiving Coil 2 to sending coil
Zref34 Reflected impedance from load coil to receiving coil
Zref341 Reflected resistance from Load Coil 1 to receiving coil
Zref342 Reflected resistance from Load Coil 2 to receiving coil
ZrefRi(i+1) Reflected impedance from Resonator (i+1) to Resonator i (i = 1,…,n)
ZS Equivalent source internal impedance
ciði þ 1Þ Reflected impedance factor of Resonator i and Resonator (i+1)
(i = 1,…,n − 1)
d Factor indicating frequency splitting of output current
g1 Efficiency of Load 1
g2 Efficiency of Load 2
gsrc Source efficiency
gsys System efficiency
gsys-max Maximum system efficiency
gtrn Transfer efficiency
gtrn-2C Transfer efficiency of two-coil structure
gtrn-4C Transfer efficiency of four-coil structure
gtrn-max Maximum transfer efficiency
j12/j21 Coupling coefficients between transmitter and receiver
k Factor indicating frequency splitting of system efficiency
q23 Coupling coefficients of sending coil and receiving coil
x Operating angular frequency
x0 Resonant angular frequency
x2 Resonant angular frequency of sending loop
x3 Resonant angular frequency of receiving loop
x’ Resonant angular frequency after increasing inductance
x’’ Resonant angular frequency after increasing capacitance
C1 Intrinsic decay rate of transmitter
C2 Intrinsic decay rate of receiver
CL Intrinsic decay rate of load
Chapter 1
Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer

In this chapter, an introduction to Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) technology is


provided for overview of this technology, including its background, history, cate-
gory, and application. Based on magnetically coupled WPT technology, the basic
structures and theories are illustrated, followed by the current research focus.
Finally, the contents of the thesis are displayed.

1.1 Brief Introduction

1.1.1 Background

Ever since the second industrial revolution, the era of electricity has come upon us.
Various electric equipment has been broadly utilized and played a vital role in
human’s life. Presently regarding its transmission, distribution, and utilization,
electric power is overwhelmingly transferred via the direct connection of metal
conductors. There are many issues resulting from this “wired” power transfer, such
as safety, feasibility and convenience in some applications. Due to wear, fatigue and
corrosion of connecting wires, sparks may occur, affecting the life span and safe use
of the equipment. With the rapid developments of technology and dramatic
improvement of human’s life, diverse domestic appliances and consumer elec-
tronics have been broadly used in our daily life. With the limited capacity of
batteries, these products need constant charging via a wire, which results in
inconvenience. Moreover, the long-term operation of implantable medical devices
(IMDs) calls for the replacement of batteries via surgery, bringing suffer and cost to
patients. With all these issues it is urgent to develop a new means of power transfer
to get rid of wires. The most likely solution is WPT technology. WPT, or con-
tactless energy transmission, is the transmission of electric energy without wires.

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 1


Y. Zhang, Key Technologies of Magnetically Coupled Resonant Wireless
Power Transfer, Springer Theses, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6538-5_1
2 1 Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer

Presently energy crisis and environmental pollution are the major issues of our
society. Using solar energy is a good way to solve these problems. Compared with
solar stations on the surface of the earth, Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP) can
achieve higher conversion efficiency and be free from weather influence. SBSP is
the ideal way to get rid of energy crisis and environmental pollution. How to
transfer electric power from the space to the ground is a major issue. Microwave
Power Transfer (MPT) can play an important part in it. Developing Electric
Vehicles (EVs) can ease the problems of air pollution caused by fuel vehicles. The
major technical issues of EVs include range anxiety and inconvenient charging.
Static and dynamic wireless charging for EVs can prolong the driving range and
improve the charging experience. Therefore, WPT technology plays a crucial role
in solving the issues of energy crisis and environmental pollution.
Wireless signal transfer, or wireless communication, frees human from the
constraint of location and distance. It has tremendously driven the development of
related technologies and promoted cultural exchange, leading to enormous
improvement of human’s life. As its counterpart in the field of energy, WPT can
free human from wires and extend the application of electric energy to a new level,
profoundly changing human’s life.
WPT can be applied where the traditional “wired” power transfer is inconve-
nient, expensive, hazardous, or even impossible, such as underwater, mine, con-
sumer electronics, implantable medical devices, EVs, rail trains, and high-voltage
applications. According to Navigant Research, global wireless power revenue is
expected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2015 to $17.9 billion in 2024 [1]. WPT has
enormous potentials.
Due to its wide application prospects and social and economic values, WPT was
ranked as one of the top ten emerging technologies for two consecutive years (2012
and 2013) by World Economic Forum [2, 3]. Meanwhile, it was also selected as one
of the ten breakthrough technologies in 2016 by Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) Technology Review [4].

1.1.2 History

The history of WPT dates back to a series of experiments conducted by Nikola


Tesla in the nineteenth century. In 1893, he demonstrated his wirelessly powered
light bulbs, which was an early trial of WPT in human’s history. In 1900, Nikola
Tesla built a Wardenclyffe Tower, also known as Tesla Tower [5]. He planned to
transfer power wirelessly by covering the surface of the earth with low-frequency
electromagnetic (EM) waves. Even though this project failed, many of his ideas
concerning WPT, such as EM induction, tuning and resonant circuit, have always
inspired researchers [6]. These are the foundations of modern magnetically coupled
resonant WPT technology.
In the 1930s, H. V. Noble from Westinghouse Laboratory succeeded in power
transmission between identical transmitting and receiving 100-MHz dipoles located
1.1 Brief Introduction 3

about 8 m from each other at the power level of hundreds of watts [7]. In 1968,
Peter Glaser introduced the concept of SBSP [8]. Afterwards, the research of SBSP
has been furthered.
Dating back to the 1990s, Auckland University has investigated WPT technol-
ogy based on EM induction [9–13]. This technology, also called as Inductive Power
Transfer (IPT), has been applied in the fields of rail transmit, assembly line,
domestic appliances, and so on. In 2007, MIT published a paper in Science [14],
stating that a 60-W light bulb was lit via coupling coils located 2 m from each other
with transfer efficiency up to 40%. The coils were in resonance with its own stray
capacitors and the resonant frequency was around 10 MHz. This work has attracted
much attention worldwide. Many academic institutes and corporations have con-
ducted extensive research and applications of WPT technology since then, greatly
promoting the development of WPT technology.

1.1.3 Category

According to the differences in principle, WPT can be categorized as shown in


Fig. 1.1.
EM radiation, magnetic induction, and electric induction WPT technologies are
all based on the effects of EM wave/field. The alternating EM field generated by
EM waves can be divided into the far field (radiation field) and the near field
(induction field) based on the distance between the field source and the target point,
normally with one wavelength as the critical point. When the distance is larger than
one wavelength, it is the far field and when much smaller, it is the near field.
EM radiation WPT technology is based on the far field. The transfer distance is
far larger than the physical length of the transmitting equipment. There are two
technologies in EM radiation WPT, namely Microwave WPT (or MPT) and
Laser WPT. To achieve high efficiency, orienting devices should be employed to
guide the direction of EM waves. Presently it is at its early stage due to low
efficiency and hazard to human.

Fig. 1.1 Category of WPT Microwave


Electromagnetic
Radiation
Laser

Magnetic Induction
WPT
Electric Induction

Ultrasonic, etc
4 1 Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer

Magnetic induction and electric induction WPT technologies are both based on
the near field. The transfer distance is comparable to the physical length of the
transmitting equipment. Magnetic induction WPT technology, also called as
magnetically coupled WPT, has been widely studied and applied due to its long
transfer distance, large transfer power capability, and high transfer efficiency.
Magnetic induction WPT is based on magnetic induction between two coupled
coils.
Electric induction WPT technology, also known as Capacitive Power Transfer
(CPT), uses the electric field generated by the metal plates on both the transmitter
side and the receiver side to transfer power wirelessly. It receives much less focus
than the magnetic induction WPT technology currently due to its short transfer
distance and hazard of electric field.
Some other kinds of WPT technologies include ultrasonic WPT using ultrasonic
wave and WPT using piezoelectric effect or hysteresis expansion.
The theoretical basis of magnetic induction WPT is illustrated as follows. The
alternating current in the transmitting coil generates an alternating magnetic field,
part of which is linked to the receiving coil. Power will be transferred to the load
when the load is connected to the receiving coil. The principle of magnetic
induction WPT is displayed in Fig. 1.2.
In some literatures, magnetic induction WPT is further divided into inductive
WPT and resonant WPT. The differences between them are that stray capacitors are
utilized in resonant WPT, instead of lumped capacitors in inductive WPT, to res-
onate with the coils at high frequency. Nevertheless, their principles are the same.
This thesis mainly focused on magnetic induction WPT and does not distinguish
inductive or resonant WPT. WPT thereafter is referred to magnetic induction WPT,
unless specifically noted.

Fig. 1.2 Principle of Magnetic Flux


magnetic induction WPT
technology

Transmitting
Source
Coil

Magnetic
Induction

Receiving
Coil Load
1.1 Brief Introduction 5

1.1.4 Application

WPT can be applied in many fields, which can be divided into two major types,
namely high-power applications and low-power applications.
High-power applications include wireless charging for EVs and rail trains. In the
1990s, Delco Electronics, one of the subsidiaries of General Motors, developed a
wireless charger called Magne Charge for EVs [15]. This is one of the earliest
commercial wireless charger for EVs. Auckland University cooperated with
PowerByProxy, Wampfler, and Daifuku to push the WPT technology to the market
and founded a company called HaloIPT. In 2011, Qualcomm purchased HaloIPT
and developed a series of wireless chargers for EVs. Witricity is another company
originally founded by MIT and worked with Toyota for wireless EV chargers.
Low-power applications include wireless charging for consumer electronics and
IMDs. Compared with high-power applications, low-power applications are more
commercially involved. Some standards have been developed, such as Qi standard
from Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) and Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP)
standard. Many companies worldwide have developed many products, such as
cellphones and electronic watches, which support wireless charging.

1.2 Basic Structure and Theory

1.2.1 Basic Structures

There are mainly three ways to classify the structures of WPT, namely according to
the existence of impedance matching coils, according to different resonant types,
and according to the number of resonant coils.
(1) Two-Coil Structure and Four-Coil Structure
According to the existence of impedance matching coils, WPT can be divided
into the two-coil structure and the four-coil structure as shown in Fig. 1.3.
Compared with the two-coil structure, the source coil and the load coil are
added in the four-coil structure. Normally the source coil and the load coil are
small coils with either a far fewer turn number (normally 1 or 2) or a smaller
size. Not only can the source coil and the load coil tune the impedance but also
they can isolate the source and the load from the sending coil and the receiving
coil, respectively.
(2) SS, SP, S-LCL, PS, PP, P-LCL, LCL-S, LCL-P, and LCL-LCL
There are three resonant types: series (S), parallel (P), and inductor-capacitor-
inductor (LCL). According to the combination of different resonant types in
both the transmitter and the receiver, WPT can be divided into nine structures:
SS, SP, S-LCL, PS, PP, P-LCL, LCL-S, LCL-P, and LCL-LCL, as demon-
strated in Fig. 1.4. Different resonant types lead to different transfer charac-
teristics, including the optimal load resistance, the open-circuit and short-circuit
6 1 Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer

Fig. 1.3 Two basic (a)


structures: a two-coil Sending Receiving
structure; b four-coil structure Coil Coil
Magnetic

Resonant Resonant
Capacitor Capacitor
Source Load

(b)
Source Sending Receiving Load
Coil Coil Coil Coil
Magnetic

Source Resonant Resonant Load


Capacitor Capacitor

characteristics on the receiving side, and the load-independent constant-voltage


or constant-current characteristics.
(3) Multiple-Transmitter Structure, Multiple-Receiver Structure, and Multiple-
Intermediate-Coil Structure
According to the number of resonators with different functions, WPT can be
divided into the multiple-transmitter structure, the multiple-receiver structure,
and the multiple-intermediate-coil structure.
In the multiple-transmitter structure, power is transferred from n sources to a
single load, as shown in Fig. 1.5. With the multiple-transmitter structure,
uniform magnetic field can be built and high efficiency can be achieved in a
wide area. Furthermore, by carefully tuning the phases of the multiple sources,
the power level of a multiple-transmitter structure can be elevated.
In the multiple-receiver structure, power is transferred from a single source to
n loads, as shown in Fig. 1.6. This structure can be applied where simultaneous
charging for multiple loads is required, which is very common in actual
applications.
In the multiple-intermediate-coil structure, multiple relay resonators are inserted
between the transmitter and the receiver to prolong the transfer distance, as
shown in Fig. 1.7. Moreover, non-linear power transfer path can be realized
with the multiple-intermediate-coil structure.
There are also combinations of these three structures, such as the multiple-
transmitter structure using intermediate coils, the multiple-receiver structure
1.2 Basic Structure and Theory 7

(a) (b) (c)


Sending Receiving Sending Receiving Sending Receiving
Coil Coil Coil Coil Coil Coil

Inductor
Source Load Source Load Source Load

(d) (e) (f)


Sending Receiving Sending Receiving Sending Receiving
Coil Coil Coil Coil Coil Coil

Inductor
Source Load Source Load Source Load

(g) (h) (i)


Sending Receiving Sending Receiving Sending Receiving
Coil Coil Coil Coil Coil Coil
Inductor

Inductor

Inductor
Inductor

Source Load Source Load Source Load

Fig. 1.4 Nine basic structures: a SS; b SP; c S-LCL; d PS; e PP; f P-LCL; g LCL-S; h LCL-P;
i LCL-LCL

using intermediate coils, and the multiple-transmitter multiple-receiver struc-


ture. Their structures can be easily derived and will not be presented here.

1.2.2 Basic Theories

There are three basic theories to describe a WPT system, namely Coupled Mode
Theory (CMT), Band Pass Filter (BPF), and Circuit Theory (CT).
8 1 Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer

Fig. 1.5 Multiple-transmitter structure

Fig. 1.6 Multiple-receiver structure

Relay Relay
Transmitter Resonator 1 Resonator n Receiver

Source ··· Load

Fig. 1.7 Multiple-intermediate-coil structure


1.2 Basic Structure and Theory 9

(1) CMT
CMT is an approach to describe the coupling of vibrational systems in space or
in time, particularly in WPT for analyzing the coupled resonators. The CMT
model of Fig. 1.3a can be established as [14]
8
< da1 ¼ ðjx  C Þa þ jj a þ A ejx0 t
dt 0 1 1 12 2 S
ð1:1Þ
: d
dt ¼ ½jx0  ðC2 þ CL Þa2 þ jj21 a1
a 2

where parameters in bold represent the corresponding phasors and the same is
true for the rest of this thesis.
Equation (1.1) can be rewritten as
" #  " # " #
d a1 jx0  C1 jj12 a1 AS ejx0 t
¼ þ ð1:2Þ
dt a2 jj21 jx0  ðC2 þ CL Þ a2 0

By solving Eq. (1.2), the related parameters of the system can be obtained.
(2) BPF
The WPT system is regarded as a second-order band pass filter in BPF. The
same way of designing a second-order band pass filter is applied to the WPT
system. Normally Butterworth or Chebyshev filters are adopted [16–18].
(3) CT
CT is the most broadly employed theory of all the three theories due to its
intuitiveness and simpleness. Based on Kirchhoff Voltage Law (KVL) and
Kirchhoff Current Law (KCL), the model to describe a WPT system can be
established. Take Fig. 1.3a as an example. Its equivalent circuit is depicted in
Fig. 1.8.
The relationship between L2, L3 and M23 is
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
M23 ¼q23 L2 L3 ð1:3Þ

where q23 satisfies 0  q23  1.


Based on KVL, the model of Fig. 1.8 can be built by
8  
< U S ¼ R2 þ jxL2 þ 1 I 2 þ jxM23 I 3
 jxC2  ð1:4Þ
: 0 ¼ jxM23 I 2 þ R3 þ jxL3 þ 1 þ RL I 3
jxC 3

Fig. 1.8 Equivalent circuit of R2 R3


two-coil structure
I2 M23 I3
US L2 L3 RL
C2 C3

Sending Coil Receiving Coil


10 1 Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer

R2 L2 L3 R3

I2 + + I3
US jωMI3 jωMI2 RL
C2 - - C3

Sending Coil Receiving Coil


Fig. 1.9 Equivalent circuit of two-coil structure with controlled sources

By decoupling the coupled inductances in Fig. 1.8, many derivative equivalent


circuits can be obtained.
The equivalent circuit with controlled sources is presented in Fig. 1.9, where
jxM23I3 is the controlled voltage source on the sending coil, determined by the
current of the receiving coil I3, and jxM23I2 is the controlled voltage source on the
receiving coil, determined by the current of the sending coil I2. This equivalent
circuit is not suitable for solving the model.
Equation (1.4) can be rewritten as
8  
< U S ¼ R2 þ jxðL2  M23 Þ þ 1 I 2 þ jxM23 ðI 2 þ I 3 Þ
 jxC2  ð1:5Þ
: 0 ¼ jxM23 ðI 2 þ I 3 Þ þ R3 þ jxðL3  M23 Þ þ 1 þ RL I 3
jxC 3

Based on Eq. (1.5), the T-type equivalent circuit of the two-coil structure can be
obtained as shown in Fig. 1.10. This equivalent circuit can be solved with the
knowledge of the series and parallel connections of impedances.
Note that L2 − M23 and L3 − M23 are not the leakage inductances. When
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
L2 > L3 and q23 [ L3 =L2 , L2 − M23 < 0. Similar results can be gotten for
L3 − M23 < 0. To avoid the negative values of inductances and to correspond with
the actual leakage inductances, the T-type equivalent circuit with a turn ratio is
developed, as shown in Fig. 1.11.

Fig. 1.10 T-type equivalent R2 L2-M23 L2-M23 R3


circuit of two-coil structure
I2 I3
US M23 RL
C2 C3
1.2 Basic Structure and Theory 11

Fig. 1.11 T-type equivalent L2r L3r R3


R2 n:1
circuit with a turn ratio of
two-coil structure
I2 I3
US L2M RL
C2 C3

Eliminating I3 in Eq. (1.4) yields


 
1 ðxM23 Þ2
US ¼ R2 þ jxL2 þ I2 þ I2
jxC2 R3 þ jxL3 þ jxC 1
þ RL
 
3 ð1:6Þ
1
¼ R2 þ jxL2 þ I 2 þ Zref23 I 2
jxC2

where the reflected impedance from the receiving coil to the sending coil Zref23 is
defined as

ðxM23 Þ2
Zref23 ¼ ð1:7Þ
R3 þ jxL3 þ jxC
1
þ RL
3

From Eq. (1.6) we can see that the impact of the receiving loop can be regarded
as a variable impedance inserted in series in the branch of the sending coil. This
variable impedance, as shown in Eq. (1.7), is proportional the square of the mutual
inductance and in reverse proportion to the loop impedance of the receiving coil.
The equivalent circuit with the reflected impedance of the two-coil structure is
shown in Fig. 1.12. The transmitter current can be calculated by using the reflected
impedance and the current of the receiving coil is thus obtained by the controlled
voltage in the receiving side.

Fig. 1.12 Equivalent circuit R2 L2 L3 R3


with reflected impedance of
two-coil structure
I2 + I3
US Z jωM23I2 RL
C2 - C3

Sending Coil Receiving Coil


12 1 Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer

Source Transfer System Load


Power
Topology Matching Sending Receiving Matching
Source Converters Converters Load
Network Coil Coil Network
Signal

Coil Coil Material


S S
Design Coil Shape
Device Device
Multi-TX
Coil
Hardware P Multi-Relay P
Structure
Multi-RX
Topology Topology
Transfer Frequency
LCL LCL
Feature Coupling

Software Modelling Control

Fig. 1.13 Components and research focus of WPT system

1.3 Current Research Focus

The components and the corresponding research focus of a WPT system can be
summarized as Fig. 1.13. A typical WPT system is composed of three parts: a
source (including converters), a transfer system (including matching networks and
transmission coils), and a load (including converters). Matching networks, also
known as compensation networks, consist of capacitors and inductors inserted
between the transmission coils and the power electronics converters. For the
magnetic part, designing a set of transmission coils is crucial in a WPT system. Coil
design is the selection and optimization of coil material (including wires and
magnetic material) and coil shape. With fixed coil design, coil structure is the next
step. Different kinds of coil structures have been displayed in Sect. 1.2.1. Last but
not least is the transfer features, including the transfer characteristics varying with
the frequency or the degree of coupling.

1.3.1 Power Electronics Converters

Power electronics converters are employed both on the transmitter side and the
receiver side as power conversion units.
On the transmitter side, power electronics inverters are utilized to conduct DC/
AC conversion. Full-bridge inverters [19–23] are widely used due to the simple
structure, stable output, and high-power capability, but the cost is high. Class E
amplifiers [24–27] are also employed due to its low cost and easy implementation
of the driving circuit. However, parameter matching should be conducted and the
power level is limited. Also, in some other research AC/AC converters [28–30],
such as matrix converters, are utilized to supply power to the transfer system.
1.3 Current Research Focus 13

On the receiver side, an AC/DC rectifier is necessary to supply power for the
load. Sometimes a DC/DC converter is inserted between the AC/DC rectifier and
the load to regulate the difference between the rectifier DC voltage and the load
voltage. In some other cases such as a bidirectional power transfer system, rectifiers
with active switches are adopted. The control of the converters on both the trans-
mitter side and the receiver side can be conducted with information from the other
side to achieve good and fast system performance.
Wide-band-gap semiconductor devices, such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) and
Gallium Nitride (GaN), are applied to WPT systems because they can operate at
much higher voltages, frequencies, and temperatures than conventional semicon-
ductor devices. SiC is applied in high-power applications [31–33] and GaN is
applied in low-power applications [34, 35].

1.3.2 Matching Network

Different matching networks lead to different characteristics, such as the voltage/


current gain, the reflected impedance and the input impedance. Reference [36]
analyzed the conditions for maximum transfer efficiency and output power, the
load-independent output characteristics, the coupling-dependent compensation, and
the open-circuit and short-circuit load characteristics of the SS, SP, PS, and PP
topologies either under a voltage source or a current source. Reference [37] sum-
marized the relationship between the load characteristics and the number of
inductors in SS, S-LCL, LCL-S, and LCL-LCL topologies.
On the transmitter side where power is supplied via a Voltage Source Inverter
(VSI), LCL compensation yields the constant-transmitter-current characteristic
regardless of the receiver-side compensation and the loading conditions [38, 39].
This is a desirable characteristic because it avoids overcurrent resulted from an
open-circuit load. To do parameter adjusting, a capacitor is inserted in the trans-
mitter coil branch to form LCC compensation [21, 40, 41]. By changing the inserted
capacitance, the transmitter current can be adjusted. Reference [42] offered a
comprehensive review of the existing compensation topologies.

1.3.3 Coil Design

To improve transfer efficiency, enlarge transfer power, and increase transfer dis-
tance, new materials are applied in WPT systems. Transfer efficiency can be
improved with reduced coil resistances. Wires with superconducting materials can
achieve zero resistance under certain conditions. Reference [43] analyzed the effi-
ciency, power and EM field of a WPT system with superconducting material.
Reference [44] studied the WPT system with the receiving coil consisting of
superconducting material. Increasing the coupling of the transmission coils can also
14 1 Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer

improve the transfer efficiency. Reference [45] employed magnetoplated wires


which are a copper wire plated with a magnetic film to improve coupling coefficient
and reduce the impact of proximity effect. Metamaterial is a new artificial com-
posite structure or material invented in the 21st century with a property that is not
found in nature, such as negative permeability. With metamaterial, uniform current
distribution can be established, the magnetic field can be enhanced, the coupling
can be strengthened, and the transfer efficiency can be dramatically improved
[46–48].
Besides coil materials, coil shapes affect the transfer characteristics by changing
the self and mutual inductances. Common coil shapes include helical coils, spiral
coils, and Printed Circuit Board (PCB) coils. They can be further divided into coils
with or without magnetic materials. The most widely used coil is the spiral coil due
to its compact structure, easy shielding design, and high-power capability. To
achieve further transfer distance, larger misalignment, and single-sided flux, the DD
coil type was proposed in [49]. DD coils extend the charging area to a large amount
[50]. However, there is a coupling valley at a certain misalignment when both the
transmitter and the receiver coils are DD coils, leading to very low efficiency. To
solve this issue, the DDQ coil was proposed which is formed by adding a
quadrature coil to the DD coil [49]. Different coil types and their characteristics
were discussed in [51, 52].
The most common coil structure in a WPT system is the two-coil structure. By
adding another coil, the impact of the source internal resistance is reduced and the
efficiency can be improved [53, 54]. There are also many studies on
multiple-transmitter structure [55–57], multiple-receiver structure [58–61], and
multiple-intermediate-coil structure [62, 63].

1.3.4 Transfer Characteristics

Frequency splitting is the frequency characteristics of a WPT system related to the


transfer distance, or rather the coupling coefficient. With the decreasing transfer
distance, multiple peaks of the system efficiency or output power varying with the
operating frequency emerge. Take the system efficiency of a four-coil WPT system
as an example. At the resonant frequency, there is a peak of the efficiency varying
with the transfer distance, as shown in Fig. 1.14a. Within a certain transfer distance,
there are two peaks of the efficiency varying with the operating frequency, as shown
in Fig. 1.14b. The efficiency splits from one peak at long distances to two peaks at
short distances. Reference [64] claimed that frequency splitting consists of three
states: overcoupled, critically coupled, and undercoupled. The characteristics of the
system input impedance were investigated to show that the efficiency is maximized
at the two frequency points corresponding to the two resonant frequencies of the
input impedance [65, 66]. To improve efficiency at short distances, the coupling
coefficients of the source coil and the sending coil, and also the load coil and the
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had a sheet of aluminium in reserve, one only, it is true, but it was all
we needed. We bent that sheet to the shape required, we bolted and
riveted it all in a few days, and until the water rose again the Davoust
remained high and dry in her dock on the sand.
THE ‘DAVOUST’ IN HER DRY DOCK.

The sand-bank was very useful to our coolies for bathing from,
and was also turned to account by the women who came to our
market for doing their washing. The deck of the Davoust became the
rendezvous of everybody, and no doubt some strange episodes took
place on and in the stranded vessel. The flesh is weak, and it was
perhaps as well that the chaplain of the mission and his aide-de-
camp, Baudry, who had charge of the police department, did not
inquire too closely into what went on in the siesta hour.
May 18.—No storm at Fort Archinard, though it is pouring with
rain all round. One would really suppose that we had a grisgris or a
fetich which enabled us to control the elements.
Three men came from Galadio to ask us to send him the treaty
already alluded to. We gave them two copies of it, one of which was
to be returned to us after being signed by Ibrahim if he approved of
it. This treaty was a league of friendship between the French and
him, agreeing to give mutual aid and protection throughout the whole
of the districts subject to him or to the French to all who came in
peace, whether as travellers or traders, whether actually the
subjects, or only aliens under the protection of either of the
contracting parties. Under all circumstances, in fact, and by every
means in their power, Galadio and the French agreed to assist each
other. Both would do their very utmost to make the road between Uro
Galadio and Massina safe. Lastly, Ibrahim promised to make no
agreement with any other European without having first consulted
the French resident at Bandiagara.
Later the duplicate of this convention came back to us signed in
beautifully clear and firm Arabic writing, after having been read and
discussed at a general meeting of native notables. This valuable
treaty had not been obtained by lavish presents, for we had already
begun to practise economy, in view of the probable heavy expenses
of the return journey, and we had warned Ibrahim that he must not
expect costly gifts.
The convention was simple, direct, and easy to be understood by
all. It was in my opinion the most complete treaty which could
possibly be drawn up in these parts, and after its signature we had a
right to rely upon the absolute good faith of the other party to the
contract, and to consider him our friend and our ally. You will see
presently how much it was worth, and judge from that of the value of
all treaties with negro chiefs, especially of those left with them, the
contents of which have never been explained.
Another great piece of news! A Messiah has risen up, by name
Bokar Ahmidu Collado, who is winning converts on the Liptako to the
west of our encampment, between Say and Bandiagara. He has
already had considerable success, and has received investiture from
Sokoto with a banner, giving him the right to make war on the
French. He went to Amadu Cheiku to ask for reinforcements, but that
chief only gave him his blessing in a very frigid manner, saying,
“Believe me, the time will come, but it is not yet come, for driving the
white men from the Sudan, the land of our fathers. There is a country
in the East bounded by a big creek (the Tchad?), and they must
spread there first. As for me, I know the French too well to care to
rub shoulders with them.”
Bokar Ahmidu Collado then went to Niugui, chief of the Cheibatan
Tuaregs, and asked him to give him some men, but Niugui said to
him, “Madidu will make war on me if I help against his friends the
French.” “You have no faith,” answered the Messiah; “I will make you
believe,” and he gave him a consecrated drink. Then they say Niugui
saw, in the air above him, crowds of combatants armed with rifles
and swords, with many mounted men, all following the Messiah and
the triumphant Crescent. He still hesitates, however, on account of
his salutary fear of Madidu.
Bokar Ahmidu Collado comes from a village of Farimaké, near
Tioko. One of Galadio’s people from Wagniaka (Massina) knew him
when he was quite young. “A poor fool that Collado,” he said to us,
“who has not even been to Mecca, yet sets up for being a Messiah!”
Moral: No man is a prophet in his own country.
Something special seemed to be going on all through the latter
part of May; all manner of news pouring in, some of it really seeming
very likely to be true. The barges at Ansongo constantly increased in
number. The Toucouleur chief Koly Mody was about to abandon the
cause of Amadu. Diafara, a man from Kunari, which had remained
true to Agibu, was on the west of our camp to levy tribute in
Hombari, to found a post at Dori, or to lead a very strong force of
French and their allies into the district of Mossi. The people of
Bussuma had been defeated and driven away, they had taken refuge
at Wagadugu, which last-named rumour seemed to us most likely to
be true, for it behoved the French Sudan to avenge the injury
inflicted on French troops the previous year by the so-called Naba of
the Nabas. What, however, were we to think of all the contradictory
rumours which sprung up like mushrooms and grew like snowballs,
to melt away almost as quickly as they took shape?
May 20.—A new visitor to-day, original if nothing more. Like every
one else, he has his budget of news, and told us about the French
column which is to operate in Mossi. We are beginning to attach very
little importance to all this gossip. Our guest is a heathen, or, as
Suleyman translates it, a Christian, explaining that he must be a co-
religionist of ours, in that he has customs peculiar to the Christians—
drinks dolo and gets drunk on it, of which he is very proud. He
therefore belongs to our family, and that is why he has come to see
his big brother, the commandant!
He calls himself a sorcerer, and seems a little off his head.
Anyhow he talks great nonsense. Whilst we were questioning him he
kept fingering a little goat-skin bag, out of which, when we were quite
weary of his stupid replies, he drew a small phial full of oil of
pimento, and a number of tiny little pots—the whole paraphernalia of
magic, in fact. Having set out all these odds and ends on the ground,
he proceeded to make some grisgris to protect the hut in which he
was from bullets.
He began by smoothing the sand of the floor with his hand, to
bring good-fortune, he said, and he then skilfully drew with his finger
in the sand four parallel lines forming parallelograms. These he
combined two by two, three by three, four by four, and so on, reciting
invocations all the time. He then rubbed all the first designs out and
began again with fresh invocations, making the lines sometimes
vertical, sometimes of other shapes.
With a very solemn face, as if he
were celebrating mass, he now drew
forth a little satchel of ancient paper,
written all over in Arabic by some
marabout, and muttered some words,
evidently learnt by heart, for he
certainly could not read. At last, with
an expression as serious as that of
the Sphinx of the desert, he
TYPICAL MARKET WOMEN. announced: “Hitherto you have had
none but enemies in the land, no one
in the whole country is your friend. Beware of the marabouts!
Beware, above all, of one particular marabout! There is a young man
ill here (this was Bluzet, who was just then lying down with an attack
of fever), but it will not be much. You must sacrifice a white chicken
for his recovery; have it broiled, and give it to the poor: this will
conciliate the favour of the great prophet Nabi Mussa, or Moses. It
will be best to give your charity to children. Then all the grisgris of
the negroes and the marabouts will avail nothing against you. But
beware, above all, on account of your men. If you cut away all the
roots of a tree it falls. In the same way, if they take away your
negroes, all will be over with you. Now I have come to give you a
grisgris for them, which will protect them from all spells, and even
from cortés and other evils. I can even give you a corté myself,
which will kill a man if you only throw the tiniest bit of it in his face.”
The corté is, in fact, the most terrible of all spells amongst the
negroes. It is said to consist of a powder which slays from a
distance. The natives say that if thrown from some miles off the man
it touches dies, and the truth seems to be, that the sorcerers have
the secret of a very subtle poison, which produces terrible disorders
in those touched by it.
As a matter of course, we did not accept the offers of a corté or
counter corté from Djula, but to give him an idea of the mischief we
could do if we chose, I gave him a five-franc piece in a bowl of
galvanized water, as I had the son of the chief of the Kel Temulai. I
then told him to go to Mossi and have a look round there to see what
would happen. He is a crazy old fellow enough, but I have been told
that sorcerers have more influence over the Mossi and their nabas,
as they call their chiefs, than those who are in the full possession of
their senses. He was willing to go, and when the Tabaski was over
he would come back inch Allah, with envoys from Bilinga or
Wagadugu.
Now Bilinga is eleven days’ march from Say, and eight days after
he left us the old fellow came back pretending he had gone all the
way. He had really never gone beyond Say, and brought us all sorts
of silly news only, so Digui took him by the shoulders and quite
gently turned him out of the camp.
May 20.—As the so-called Tabaski fête approached, our visitors
and the news they brought were greatly on the increase. Pullo,
Osman, and the minor ambassadors vied with each other in the
ingenuity of their inventions. The fact was, they all wanted to have
new bubus for the festive occasion, some money, some coppers to
buy kola nuts, etc., not to speak of new bright-coloured
undergarments for their wives. “What would the village people say,
commandant,” they would urge, “if I, who every one knows to be a
friend of the French, should cut anything but a good figure?”

THE MARKET AT FORT ARCHINARD.

Some few, however, were actuated by something more than a


wish for presents on their visits to us. They were rather afraid of the
column which was said to be operating in Mossi. Osman brought the
chief trader of the market to us, a Wagobé, belonging therefore to
the Sarracolais tribe, an intelligent man with a frank, open
expression. His pretext for coming to see us was that he had a slave
to sell, but he knew well enough that we never bought slaves. She
had been brought from Samory’s camp, where prices for such
merchandise were very low, there being a perfect glut of slaves in
the market, and at the same time a scarcity of grain. The young girl,
who was in good health, with all her teeth intact, had been bought for
the modest sum of 10,000 cowries, about 10 francs, or the value of
two sheep, or of a sack of millet. According to her owner, prices were
much higher at Say, where a first-class female slave, that is to say, a
young virgin, would fetch 200,000 cowries, whilst a strong young
man was worth 150,000. Less valuable captives were cheaper, and
some of the fifth-class went for as little as 100,000 cowries. These
are of course commercial quotations, but as a matter of fact now and
then a few are sold for as low a sum as 25,000 cowries.
The chief of the market brought us kola nuts, honey, rice, and
milk. He mourned over the evil days which had fallen on Say. “All our
roads,” he said, “are blocked on the north by the Tuaregs, on the
west by the heathen Mossi, on the south by the Dendi, and on the
east by the Kebbi and the Mauri. It is only rarely that a few caravans
with a strong escort can get as far as Sansan Haussa, by way of
Sergoe. A whole fleet of canoes, which went down to Yauri last year,
had remained there for fear of the Dendikobés. The boatmen had
founded a village there, and were now lost to Say. Then, besides
that, things were not going as could be wished by those of the true
faith. The Empire of Sokoto and its Emir were between two fires, with
Rabba on one side and the Serki Kebbi on the other.”
When Osman, returning to the charge, spoke to us again about
the column supposed to have gone to Mossi, I said to him—“You
see, the Naba of Wagadugu gave the same kind of reception to the
Frenchmen who went to visit him last year as Amadu Saturu has
given to us at Say. So the chief of the whites has given orders that
his village should be destroyed, and it will be your turn next year, I
hope.”
A WOMAN OF SAY.

They then went away plunged in reflection.


Visitors are all the fashion just now. On Thursday, May 21, a
young man came to our market wearing a blue bubu trimmed with
blue and red printed calico, such as is made at Rouen. We had long
known the owner of this costume, and when we recognized him we
were ready to fling ourselves into his arms.
He at least was a genuine person, the son of the chief of Fafa,
who had been such a good guide to us when we were amongst the
rapids, the son of that old Fulah who wished to interpose his own
body between me and Djamarata to protect me from harm. He came
from Djamarata now, and we had no reason to doubt his good faith
at least. He came, he said, to inquire after the health of the
commandant, and to ask what state our boats were in after passing
over the terrible rocks, etc. Djamarata assured us of his friendship.
True, when we first arrived in his country the Tuaregs had been on
their guard, but now that they were convinced of our pacific
intentions, and saw that we molested no one, the Awellimiden were
quite on our side, and had full confidence in us.
When our friend left us his goat-skin bag was full of presents.
Here at least was one native who deserved well of us, for he had
made a twenty days’ march to come and give us his master’s
compliments.
May 24, Whitsunday.—It appears that the Mossi column is making
good progress, at least we gather that it is, from the improved
bearing towards us of the natives, but lies and all manner of false
reports are still the order of the day.
Yesterday the fête of the Tabaski, or the Feast of the Sheep, was
celebrated, which is not, it appears, of Mahommedan origin. The
village of Talibia sent envoys to make friends in our camp, and some
wretched-looking natives danced a tam-tam. Others came to beg,
and to all the poor creatures we gave something—a little salt, a
mechanical toy, a cubit of cloth, or some other trifles. I also
distributed a little money amongst our own men.
A regular descent was made on the camp by sellers of kola nuts,
grisgris, etc. A number of women also came, amongst whom was a
Toucouleur girl named Fanta. She said she had come to see if her
brother was with us, but I suspect her motives were not quite so
innocent as that. In the end, this girl became a dangerous enemy to
us. After warning her off again and again, we at last had literally to
drive her out of the camp. If we had not done so I expect she would
have persuaded some of our men to desert, so great was her
influence over them.
ENVOYS FROM THE CHIEF OF KIBTACHI.

Fanta was really a very reckless person, and is supposed to have


poisoned a man whom she had persuaded to treason, but who had
failed to achieve the result she had hoped by that treason. The
native chiefs know only too well how easy it is to seduce men from
their allegiance to travellers with the aid of some pretty fellow-
countrywoman of theirs, and it is necessary to be always on guard
against this sort of thing.
In the present case the Tabaski fête passed over quietly enough.
We regaled our visitors with a little apparently impromptu fusillade,
which we had really agreed upon beforehand amongst ourselves,
giving the Koyraberos from Talibia a demonstration of the
penetrating force of our bullets on the branches of some trees.
“Bissimilaye! Bissimilaye!” cried old Suleyman Foutanké, hardly able
to believe his own eyes.
June.—No rain at Say yet! It really looks as if we had cast a spell
upon the place, the more so that the want of rain was accompanied
by a plague of locusts. We had invoked the aid of Moses against our
enemies, and now, like him, I had brought upon the natives of the
land of our exile clouds of locusts to devour all green things. The
people were in despair. A drought and locusts together meant
perhaps the complete destruction of the harvest. But there is always
some good in everything, and the Koyraberos flung themselves,
armed with sticks, into the thickest part of the swarms, beating down
the insects, which were picked up by the children, and stowed away
in their bubus. Fried and seasoned, the locusts made a very
appetizing change of diet.
Our men from Senegal, however, made great fun of those who ate
them; they were themselves much too civilized for such food as that.
“The Koyraberos,” Digui said to me, “are regular savages!” and it
was worth something to hear the tone of contempt in which he gave
utterance to this insulting remark.
The chief of Kibtachi, a big Haussa village down-stream, sent us
various presents and made many promises to us. He also begged us
most politely to visit him when we passed later. “Why,” he said, “did
you not come to Kibtachi to begin with, instead of stopping with
Saturu, who wishes you no good?” Talking of presents, Galadio,
when he returned the signed treaty, sent a wonderful collection of
gifts, including kola nuts, symbolic of friendship, with calabashes full
of honey, and bags of baobab flour, the medicinal effect of the two
being totally different, the honey acting as an emollient, the flour as
an irritant.
The chiefs of the Sidibés, Kurteyes, Sillabés, etc., all vied with
each other now in sending messengers to us to assure us of their
friendship, and yet another notable, chief of the Torodi Fulahs, asked
us to make just such a treaty with him as we had with his friend
Galadio. “Galadio and I,” he wrote to us, “are together like two teeth
of the same comb!” A happy metaphor indeed, a regular literary
gem!
Yes, indeed, they all belonged to the same comb, these native
friends of ours, and as yet we did not suspect how very dirty that
comb was.
Presently we heard of a split amongst the Toucouleurs, and that
the Gaberos had had enough of Amadu. They sent, in fact, to beg
me to intercede for them with my friend Madidu, and to get him to let
them return to his country. There were more fresh quarrels too
between the Toucouleurs and the Sidibés. Amadu had put a Hadji
marabout of the Sidibé tribe in irons, and by way of reprisal the
Sidibés had seized three Toucouleurs at Yuli, opposite Dunga. The
hostile tribes were, in fact, snarling at each other from the two banks
of the river, and showing their teeth rather like porcelain dogs, only in
this case the dogs were jet black.
The Sidibés, according to Pullo Khalifa and the son of their chief,
who came to us with him, were disposed to throw themselves upon
our protection. If, they said, Amadu had not set their Hadji free in
three days, the Sidibé women with their flocks and herds would be
placed under the protection of our guns!
Would this be the spark which would set fire to the gun-powder?
Hurrah! If it were, our protectorate would become an effective one;
we should have a fine rôle to play; that of intervening in favour of a
native coalition against the parasitical Toucouleurs, the hereditary
enemies of French influence in Africa.
A COBBLER OF MOSSI.

All, then, was tending in the direction of our hopes. A good job
too, for the river was falling, falling, falling. Our island was completely
transformed, for a big isthmus of sand and flints now united it to the
right bank. Hundreds of determined men, or of men driven in from
behind, might pour into the camp any night now, as into some
popular fair.
Reassured though we were by what we heard of the political
condition of the country, and by all these protestations of friendship,
we yet awaited the 14th July with impatience, and we celebrated its
passing as joyfully as possible when it came at last. No sooner was it
over, however, when slowly and quietly, and at first very doubtfully,
certain bad news filtered through, which gradually gained certainty.
For once, indeed, there was no doubt about the evil tidings, which
were diametrically opposed to all that the politeness of the natives
would have had us believe. The whole country, Toucouleurs, people
of Say, of Kibtachi, and of Torodi, with the Sidibés, the Gaberos and
others, had combined against us and were marching to attack us.
Naturally no one had thought fit to warn us. It was Osman, poor
fellow, who, in spite of himself, put us on the scent, and gave us the
alarm. He meant to play the part of an angel of light, but, as is often
the case, his rôle was really quite the reverse.
One fine day he said to us point-blank, “There is no cause for
anxiety now, you can sleep with both ears shut, for Amadu Saturu
and Amadu Cheiku are both most favourably disposed towards you.”
“Why do you tell us that, Osman?” I asked. “I feel sure you have
some very good reason, but take care what you say. You are lying, I
know. Amadu is really trying to pick a quarrel with us.”
“Bissimilaye! not a bit of it,” was the reply. “He is only getting his
column together to move against Djermakoy.”
I had never been told a word about that expedition, and the fact
seemed strange, so I said—
“Osman! you are telling a lie. What column is going against
Djermakoy?”
Then with much hesitation, and turning as pale as a negro can
when he has got himself into a hobble, he began to tell us how all
the people of Say, and the Toucouleurs, in fact, all the natives, had
united to march on Dentchendu, a big village of Djerma, the very
centre of the Futanké agitation, but that before actually starting they
were all coming to Say to receive the benediction of Saturu, who
would recite the Fatiha to the glory of the Prophet on the tomb of his
ancestor, Mohammed Djebbo, who had founded the town.
FORT ARCHINARD.

I understood at once, and really the plan to surprise us had not


been at all badly thought out. “Well, Osman,” I said, “you will warn
Modido that if the Toucouleur column camps in or near his village, in
which he declined to receive us, it will mean war with us.” “Oh!” cried
Osman in his dismay, “the whole column will not come, only the
chiefs, with Ahmidu Ahmadu, the leader of the troops.”
Then he tried to undo what he had done, and told quite a different
story, saying he had been mistaken; Saturu would go and give the
benediction to the column on the bank near Djerma.
We were warned now; a big column really was assembled. We
made discreet inquiries on every side, and all the news we heard
confirmed the fact. Pullo himself now ventured to be explicit, and told
us to be on our guard.
The palm of deception and treason must be given in this case to a
Fulah from Massina, called Ahmadu Mumi, but we were the ones to
reap the benefit of his evil-doing. Born in the village of Mumi, near
Mopti, on the Niger, all his people had been killed by the Toucouleurs
when El Hadj Omar won his great victory. He himself had been taken
prisoner, and dragged behind the horses of his captors to Say,
where, bruised, bleeding, and in rags, he was sold. Of course, as a
natural consequence, he hated the Toucouleurs with an intense and
bitter hatred, but he was later bought by the chief of Say, who set
him free. He became the confidant and friend of his liberator, so that,
as he explained to us, he knew better than any one else what was
going on, and was therefore better able to betray Saturu.
He did betray him too, for a high price, revealing to us all the
preparations our enemies were making against us. Amadu, it
appeared, aided by the chief of Say, had rallied every one all round
to his standard, and to win over the lukewarm, vague hints were
thrown out of going to get slaves amongst the Djermas on the left
and the Gurmas on the right bank of the river. All would meet at Say
for the benediction, and then at the critical moment, Madidu,
pretending to be suddenly supernaturally inspired, would exclaim
—“Listen! what says the prophet? Leave the Gurmas and the
Djermas alone. It is against the infidels, the Kaffirs of Talibia, that you
must march. It is their destruction which will please God!” Then every
one would be carried away by enthusiasm, and urging each other
on, would rush in their fanatical zeal to the attack of our little island.
None but the chiefs knew of the plot, Ahmadu Mumi told us, but
he had been so placed that he could tell what they were all thinking
of. Double traitor that he was, he used to go backwards and forwards
from Say to Dunga, and from Dunga to Fort Archinard, spying and
taking bribes now from one side, now from the other. When with us
he would say all he wanted was revenge on the Toucouleurs.
Well, we merely said “All right!” and set to work with feverish
activity to double our abattis, which the tornados had somewhat
damaged, and to build new loopholed redoubts round the camp. On
July 14 we were all eagerly engaged in preparing for the defence of
our fort, and I don’t suppose any one gave a thought to the review at
Longchamps, or to the public balls going on in Paris at this festive
time. As in all crises and times of difficulties, our coolies rose to the
occasion, and showed themselves more full of zeal, better
disciplined, more thoroughly in hand
under their French officers than they
had ever done before, so that when
we saw the smoke from the camp of
the allies rising up above Say, we
were all perfectly ready for the attack.
Ready to make the besiegers pay
dearly for their temerity at least, but it
would not do to count upon all of us
coming safe and sound out of the
affair: the forces were too terribly
unequal for that. Amadu had five
hundred guns with him, and the
Toucouleurs are brave, especially
when their fanaticism has been
aroused. A certain number of the
A MARKET WOMAN.
captives taken by the Tuaregs had
also come from Sorgoe to join hands
with them. Aliburi, too, the hero of Cayor of Yuri memory, was there,
and in a night attack all these auxiliaries would be very formidable
adversaries to us. We wondered how many warriors there were
altogether, including those armed with bows and arrows or spears
only. It was very difficult to form an idea, for negroes never allow
their numbers to be counted when they go to war. They think it
brings bad luck. There was, however, no doubt that at this time
Amadu could muster from ten to fifteen hundred combatants.
And to oppose to all this rabble, we were but forty-five, even if we
counted in our scullions.
The worst of it was, a good many of our cartridges had got
damaged, partly by the great heat and partly by the damp. The
damage was such that at the first shot the weapon might become
useless for the rest of the fight, a serious matter when we were so
few.
It certainly seemed as if we were in for it at last!
Several nights passed by in suspense, and we all slept badly. On
the north we could see the gleam of many moving torches in the
forest, for from Talibia to Say signals were being made. Torches of
straw were lit and put out three by three, but what these signals
portended we could not tell.
July 17.—It seems that the attack on our camp is now decided
upon, for our spy tells us we shall be assailed from the right bank in
the night when there is no moon. The Toucouleurs are camped at
Tillé above Say. At the benediction to be given at three o’clock
Amadu Saturu will stir up the people. We might expect the first alarm
at about ten o’clock. Ahmadu Mumi spoke very positively, though he
explained that he could not be absolutely certain, and anyhow not a
woman had come to the market that morning. Osman, on the other
hand, stoutly denied the report, but this only made us more sure of
its truth, and we doubled our sentries in preparation for a night which
might perhaps be our last.
We waited and waited, but nothing
happened. We heard nothing that
night, as on so many others, but the
howling of the monkeys and the
murmuring of the rapids down-stream.
Everything remained quiet the next
day too, and gradually all the smoke
faded away, whilst the light of the
torches was extinguished. The
women, who had deserted our
market, returned as if there had never
been any reason for their absence,
and all went on as before. We knew
now that the column was again
dispersed, the warriors had drawn
back at the very last moment, and had
gone off in small parties to take slaves A FULAH WOMAN.
in Djerma, or to attack Dosso. All the
energy they had displayed with regard to us had been simply
wasted.
It had been enough for us to assume a firm attitude, and for the
natives to know that we had been warned. To maintain a firm attitude
seems rather like a quotation from Tartarin de Tarascon, for we
should have found it difficult enough to defend ourselves. How
should I have been able to make good my threats that I would burn
Say on the first alarm?
It seemed, however, that Saturu really was rather alarmed, lest
harm should happen to his town. He would not let the column
camped near it enter Say, and the Friday benediction was only after
all pronounced on the chiefs. Their secret they knew had leaked out,
they had seen us strengthen our defences, and they hesitated after
all to attack us. The knowledge of the bloodshed which would
inevitably ensue had greatly cooled the enthusiasm of all not quite
mad with fanaticism, and many whose adherence had been counted
on as certain had failed to put in an appearance. Then the rain had
something to do with damping the ardour for war. The daily storms,
which had come at last, completed the demoralization of the rabble.
They had missed their aim, because we, who were that aim, had
been on our guard, and some went off one way, others another, to
hunt slaves instead of rushing upon our defences.
We had had a narrow escape, but it was a complete one, for the
new moon was rising now, and the river was rapidly increasing in
depth, adding each day to the efficiency as a defence of the ditch
which divided us from the mainland and our enemies.
We were saved! but for a whole week we had been face to face
with the melancholy prospect of ending our lives on this remote
island, and often and often as we watched we wondered whether, if
we were massacred, we should be better or more quickly avenged
than our predecessor Flatters had been.
We now understood all the false rumours which had been spread
of French columns marching in the neighbourhood, and of all these
columns were going to do. The reports were spread merely to induce
us to leave our tata, where we were in comparative security, and
which the Toucouleurs seemed to look upon as impregnable. Our
enemies wanted to decoy us to go and meet our comrades, so that

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