Abstract/Summary

With the proliferation of wearable and garment-based electronics, there is growing need to develop suitable solutions to power these devices. Wireless power transfer is a prime candidate to achieve this as it does not require any physical wires or connections. However, research in this field has historically focused on creating solid and bulky coil resonators to facilitate wireless transfer of energy and these solutions do not translate well into textile applications. The aim of this thesis was to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of a novel textile printed resonator structure to enable wireless power transfer in smart garments. The solution needed to be light weight, easy and cost-effective to manufacture, and robust enough to withstand garment wash cycles all while maintaining the comfort and flexibility expected of everyday clothing. This research delved into how such textile resonators functioned and how they could be manufactured to achieve these requirements. Computer simulation tools employing finite element analysis were used to develop an accurate approach to modelling the proposed structures and refined models were constructed and tested in order to verify theoretical models. The results showed that the proposed approach was indeed viable for the target application. Furthermore, experiments demonstrated an incredibly versatile design approach, allowing for multiple resonant frequencies to exist within the same 2D structure predicated on the size, shape and number of geometric patterns in a design. Successfully demonstrating this novel approach has opened up a new avenue for wireless power transfer research, not only limited to textile surfaces and smart garments, but transferable to other applications due to its ease of construction and flexibility in operational parameter design.