A 1kW Phase-Shifted Full Bridge Converter incorporating Contact-less Transfer of Energy

This paper addresses the problem of reliable power transfer from the stationary to the rotating part of an airborne radar without any electrical contact. An inductive interface (rotating transformer) is proposed as a replacement for the well-established slip-ring technology. The aim is to design a reliable and efficient converter free of moving parts and mechanical faults. The resulting design has a long life expectancy and is ideal for equipment in aerospace, military and underwater applications, where minimal or no maintenance is a key objective. The paper initially examines the electrical properties of the rotating transformer and derives electrical equivalent models for the adjacent and coaxial winding arrangements. The phase-shifted full bridge converter is proposed as a topology that can effectively utilise the rotating transformer leakage inductance and poor coupling coefficient. A step-by-step design algorithm is described in the third section and the experimental results are finally presented and discussed