Characterization of a soft magnetic composite for use in road-embedded wireless-charging systems

The ferrite magnetic core is an integral component of road-embedded wireless charging systems for electric vehicles. However, the brittleness of ferrite makes it susceptible to premature fracture due to cyclic wheel loading from vehicles. This has motivated the development of a soft magnetic composite (SMC) composed of a flexible polyurethane and crushed ferrite as an alternative. An experimental investigation was conducted into the trade-offs between mechanical, thermal and magnetic properties at ferrite volume fractions between 45.9[Formula: see text]vol% and 80.6[Formula: see text]vol%. A comparison was made between measured properties and predictions from analytical models in order to further investigate the characteristics of the composite. The investigation showed a trade-off between the increase in magnetic permeability and the reduction in strain-to-failure as ferrite volume fraction increased. In addition, a large increase in flexural modulus and thermal conductivity, along with a slight increase in flexural strength was observed. More importantly, the strain-to-failure of the composite was 20 times higher than that of ferrite even at the highest volume fraction, indicating that the SMC was successful in providing a more ductile and flexible alternative.