Analysis and Optimal Design of a WPT Coupler for Underwater Vehicles Using Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm

When the wireless power transfer (WPT) system is installed on the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), there is a non-negligible eddy current loss around the coupler. The existence of the ferrite core causes the nonlinear distortion of the magnetic field, which makes the design of the WPT coupler more complicated and difficult. In this paper, the key parameters that affect the performance of the coupler were obtained through calculation and finite element analysis (FEA). Then, the coupler was parametrically modeled in Maxwell, and the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) was used to optimize its design, considering two objective functions: mutual inductance and equivalent coupler loss impedance (ECLI). Finally, twenty groups of Pareto optimal points were evaluated using the Technique for Ordering Preferences by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. Five groups of design points with different weights were screened out. The effectiveness of the optimization process was verified by comparing the optimization results with the initial results.