Contactless power transfer through a rotating transformer for spatial application

In satellites, the energy required to supply the entire equipment is provided by the solar arrays. They are in constant rotation with respect to the satellite platform in order to face the sun at all time and maximize their efficiency. Therefore, the power is transferred through a rotating device which is called the Solar Array Drive Mechanism. The current technology ensuring the power flow is the slip rings system. However, it is limited by a low voltage operation because of electrostatic discharges. In this master thesis, an alternative solution is explored with an inductive power transfer system. This system is composed of a rotating transformer and a Dual Active Bridge allowing to connect the solar array, the bus and the batteries in a single device. At first, models are defined in order to represent and evaluate important design features of the rotating transformer such as losses and thermal management. An optimization is then performed to reach the best efficiency for a maximal power density. Secondly, the results are validated by finite elements simulations and a prototype is manufactured for further tests and measurements.