TRANSMISION INALAMBRICA DE ENERGIA, VOL. 1, NO.

1, APRIL 2017 1

Analisis Experimental de los factores que afectan la

transmision de energa de forma inalambrica
empleando una bobina de Tesla
Ingrid Rojas, Diego Gallo

ResumenOver time they have developed several prototypes

of tesla coil, the site most recognized commercial application
is currently Chargers wireless mobile phones, which allows the
loading of millimeters away mobile devices. A study of the
factors affecting the reach wireless power transmission based on
the laws realize that electricity and physical principles.Wireless
energy transfer is the transmission of electric power from a
power source without physical conductive connection, allow
charging cell phones wirelessly,the magnetic field discreated using
inductive coupling between coil sofwire or the capacitive coupling
between the electrodes.The most common form of Wireless power
transmission is carried out using direct induction. A low induced
between the receiving coils attached to the primary coil. Since
low occurred on the primary winding must be at high frequency.
Therefore, the coil tesla is used as a transmitter to produce high
voltage, high frequency and low AC. In this work, the Tesla coil is
a part of the component of the transmitter in wireless electricity,
appliances and need to develop in order to demonstrate how
magnetic induction is coupled to a feeding.
Figura 1. Transmission model through the Ground according to Tesla
Index TermsTransistors, switching frequency, transformation retrieved from: http://conspiracionesilluminatis.blogspot.com.co/2008/04/nikola-
ratio, distance tesla.html

I. I NTRODUCTION

T he first device that allows a wireless electric power

transmission was created by Nikola Tesla, their basic
principle of functioning based on high-frequency currents, the
power transistors that seeks to make circular currents of high
frequency [2].

ground behaves as a conductive ball through which passes

the current. [1], [2]
In the figure1 energy transmission model is observed across
the ground, where T makes reference to the transmitter, G to
ground and R to the receiving station [1].
The prototype made by Nikola Tesla consisted of a high
voltage transformer, which possessed a coil with a diameter
of 15 meters (transmitter circuit), with a ball of 91.4 cm
in diameter which was at the top and a receiver (receiver
circuit) transformer which is tuned (on the same frequency)
with voltage transformer [3], [4], [5], [6].
Throughout history have been developed different
prototypes, in which most of these are based on the
use of spark gap, are designed even according to the
original prototype. However, they have now developed some
possessing power electronics, the spark gap is replaced by
Rojas and Gallo was with the Department of Electrical Engineering,
Universidad de la Salle, Bogota.
Manuscript received April 1, 2017; revised April 5, 2017.
Within the articles is more recent in the IEEE 2016
International Conference on Sustainable Energy Engineering
and Application (ICSEEA)n this you can see that they
employ integrators in replaced of the spark gap fulfilling the
function of switch.In other articles of the IEEE Design and
Construction Solution of Laboratory Tesla Coils in more
robust Tesla coils to testing different materials to download
and testing of insulation.
The objective of this project is to perform an experimental
analysis of the factors affecting the transmission of electric
energy wirelessly using a Tesla coil, based on two circuits
(single loop and parallel circuit) test; behavior assessment
will be done through the power of a purely resistive load
(light bulb). Finally, this work is articulated in the following
manner: section II presents the theoretical aspects, section
III raises the methodology to be developed throughout this
paper, section IV is an analysis of the results obtained, and
finally section V presents the conclusions of the work carried
out.
TRANSMISION INALAMBRICA DE ENERGIA, VOL. 1, NO. 1, APRIL 2017 2

II. THEORETICAL BACK GROUND II-B. Operating principles of classic Tesla coil
The development of this work is basic to understand Tesla coil equivalent circuit is shown in Figure 2, where
the principles of electromagnetism, the Tesla coil operating the left side corresponds to the transmitter circuit and the
principles of classical and Tesla coil with power electronics right-hand side at the receiver circuit, both consisting of
components. a circuit (RLC) where (L1,L2) It is own inductance of
(Lp,Ls) in accordance with Figure 5 respectively, (R1,R2)
the resistance of the winding(Lp,Ls) respectively, as (C1,C2).
II-A. Principles of electromagnetism The capacitive component helps store charge needed for the
disruption of the air and be able to generate a discharge of
Wireless transmission of power is based on the use of
high voltage on the coil of the transmitter circuit, which will
a magnetic field generated by an electric current to induce
generate an electric field which in turn will circulate a current
a current in a second conductor. This effect occurs in the
induced on the coil of the receiver circuit in high frequencies,
electromagnetic near-field, with secondary in close proximity
this is because the frequency of resonance between the two
to the primary. The transmitted energy is lost as increasing
coils to transmit energy [10].
distance from the primary, more and more of the primary
to the secondary magnetic field [7]. The existence of a
difference in voltage between two points is essential to
produce an electric current. Yes moves an electrical conductor
in a magnetic field inside, appears a potential difference in
the ends of the conductor.

II-A1. Capacitive coupling : In the capacitive coupling

energy is transmitted by the electric field between two
electrodes (transmitter and receiver) with intermediate space
as a dielectric that acts as a capacitor. The generated voltage
is applied to electrodes that generate an oscillating electric
field which induces an alternating potential which causes
current to flow. The amount of transferred power increases
with the frequency and capacitance between the plates; in the
same way is proportional to the surface total of plates and
reverse to the distance between them. The only capacitive
coupling is used in low power applications because the high
voltages on electrodes are required to transmit the useful
power [8].
Figura 2. Tesla coil equivalent circuit /
II-C. Tesla coil with power electronics
In the figure 3 illustrates the general circuit of the Tesla coil
which consists of a coil primary (Lp),winding secondary (Ls),
transistor (Q), capacitor (C) and source (V),the exploder that
comes in the classic Tesla coil is replaced by a (transistor)
power electronics component in order to make the source
switching, i.e. through the charge stored in the capacitor.

II-A2. Inductive Coupling: Inductive coupling is based

on the use of a magnetic field that is generated by an
electric current to induce a current in a second conductor,
power is sent from the transmitter to the receiver by means
of inductive coupling between the windings. This effect
occurs in the electromagnetic near-field. The resonance
frequency is defined as the specific frequency to which
capacitive and inductive reactance neutralize each other, i.e.,
the frequency at which the maximum transfer of energy is [9].
Figura 3. Simple circuit, Tesla coil with transistor
retrieved from:http://www.spigellab.com/
II-A3. Faraday induction law: The Faraday law States
that the voltage induced in a circuit is proportional to the Simple circuit shown in the figure3consists of a coil primary
speed with which changes a magnetic field variation in time. (Lp),winding secondary (Ls), transistor (Q), capacitor (C)
The magnitude of the electromotive force (FEM) induced in and source (V), the difference between the simple circuit and
a circuit is equal to the reason of change of magnetic flux the parallel circuit is that as it is stated, the parallel circuit
through the circuit. (through a loop of wire enclosed, that pose another circuit with the same characteristics among
moves in a magnetic field). themselves, in order to obtain a greater power in the receiver
circuit.
II-A4. Ampere law: The amount of current is related to
the magnetic field it produces. Resonance The values of the inductance of the coils, parasitic
It occurs due to the trend of vibration of two bodies in certain capacitance (Cs) And resonance frequency (fr) They are
frequency, is excited externally. calculated as shown below:
TRANSMISION INALAMBRICA DE ENERGIA, VOL. 1, NO. 1, APRIL 2017 3

The inductance of the primary coil LpIt is obtained by the a current that is reflected in an increase in power circuit. The
equation (1) where is given depending on the number of turns Shockley diode is a diode that allows switching (switching
(N ), the radius of the conductor (r), and capacitance (C): power supply) in periods of very short times during its
polarization.
r2 N 2
Lp = (1) Primary coil: The primary coil is constructed of cylindrical
8r + 11C
form, consisting of a coil of 5 turns, using a copper wire
The secondary coil inductance Lp It can be calculated by
AWG 10-gauge, for simple circuit; The parallel circuit is
the formula of Wheeler (2)Depending on the radio (r) and the
done similarly, consisting of two coils with 5 turns.
length of the winding (h), relative Permeability (0 ), should
be noted that the use of this formula only applies if h > 0,67r.
Secondary coil The secondary winding consists of three
windings of equal size (height 36cm), with copper wire
100 (rN )2 gauge AWG 25, the coil of 800 turns, the base of the
Ls = (2)
9r + 10h winding is used a tube of PVC de 2, Opted for this material
In the same way you can calculate the parasitic inductance since their properties have no effect with magnetic fields,
Cs produced in the secondary coil through the equation of therefore, it gets a coil with air core. In the secondary winding
Medhurst (3) configuration one of the coils will act as a transmitter coil
and the remaining two serves the function of receiver.
r
r3
Cs = (11,42h + 16,14r + 76,83 )1012 (3) In the figure 4 the circuit implemented can be observed,
h
the windings were performed by hand; at the top is the
The resonance frequency (f r) at the highest output voltage primary coil (coil blue), which in turn is in the same coil of
is measured in 385 kHz (theoretically). at this frequency, i.e., the secondary coil, these two coil form the transmitter circuit;
when the primary and secondary coil are tuned to the same the two remaining coils are receiving secondary coils.
frequency (LpCp = LsCs), as seen in the equation (4)

1 1
fr = = (4)
2 LpCp 2 LsCs

III. M ETHODOLOGY
The development of the methodology is carried out
through the designed circuit, which is based on two circuits
(simple circuit, parallel circuit) that unlike the original
Tesla coil circuit using a transistor for switching at high
frequencies and performing the loading and unloading of coil .

The study of the wireless transmission of electrical energy

was two prototypes of circuit measurements of frequency,
voltage at the load and level of lighting in the load were
obtained from Tesla coil with different configurations (simple
circuit, parallel circuit). To evaluate the behavior of coil,
measurements were made with its capacitive component
(sphere) and without it. Below is the procedure adopted in
the design of coils. Figura 4. Implemented circuit Assembly

The realized prototype, is generally composed by: a

transistor, you which operates in court mode, the transistor is
off, the current flowing through the collector is approximately
zero and there is a tension between the collector and emitter,
the capacitor serves to store voltage needed to reach saturation
mode and shoot the transistor the primary coil (Lp) will
induce an electric field on the secondary winding (Ls), which
generates a current induced on the primary coil (Lp); the
circuit is re-alimentado because of the connection of the
primary coil (Lp) with the base of the transistor, and induces
III-A. CIRCUIT DESIGN
III-A1. Simple circuit: For the design of the simple
circuit as shown in the figure are taken into account the
following characteristics of the components: 1 Transistor (Q)
NPN NTE2338,1 Diode (D) Schottky NTE580,1 Capacitor
(C) 150uF 600V,1 Resistance (R) 10k. [11].
TRANSMISION INALAMBRICA DE ENERGIA, VOL. 1, NO. 1, APRIL 2017 4

1020
1010
1000
990

Frecuencia [kHz]
980
970
960
950
Figura 5. Simple circuit (consists of a single coil Lp) 940
retrieved from:http://www.spigellab.com/ 930
920
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Distancia [cm]
III-A2. Parallel circuit: For the design of the simple
circuit as shown in the figure are taken into account the
following characteristics of the components: 2 Transistor (Q)
NPN NTE2338, 2 Diode (D) Schottky NTE580, 2 Capacitor
Figura 7. Graph distance vs frequency, Circuit without toroid
(C) 150uF 600V, 2 Resistance (R) 10k [11].

IV-B. PARALLEL CIRCUIT

In the graph 8 The relation between distance and frequency
is observed, its behavior tends to increase the distance its
frequency stabilizes in 1MHz; Similarly, that by implementing
the two circuits in parallel the frequency, is not altered if not,
have the same tendency is observed.

1020
1010
1000
990
Frecuencia [kHz]

980
970
Figura 6. Parallel circuitretrieved from:http://www.spigellab.com/ 960
950
940
930
920
910
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Distancia [cm]
IV. R ESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

For the evaluation of wireless power transmission there are

two case studies from two circuits (simple, parallel) and two
types of connections (connection of two coils, connection of
ground).
IV-A. SIMPLE CIRCUIT
In the graph 7 The relationship between distance and
frequency is observed, its behavior tends to increase the
distance, the frequency is stabilized in 1MHz.
Figura 8. Graph distance vs frequency,Circuit with toroid
IV-C. DATA FOR A LOAD OF 25W, SIMPLE CIRCUIT
For the analysis of the circuit is used a resistive load since
the inductive and capacitive components will depend on the
frequency, and the designed circuit works at high frequencies,
therefore not all the load can work at this frequency, since
they are designed frequency (60Hz).
IV-C1. Connection of two coils: For the evaluation of the
performance of the circuit with two coil connection its results
can be seen in Figure 9 , where the maximum obtained of the
circuit power is approximately 4.64W
TRANSMISION INALAMBRICA DE ENERGIA, VOL. 1, NO. 1, APRIL 2017 5

5,00 6,00

4,50 5,00
y = 0,001x2 - 0,048x + 3,5429
R = 0,75768 4,00 y = 0,0015x2 - 0,182x + 8,1025
4,00 R = 0,9474

Potencia (W)
Potencia (W)

3,00
3,50

2,00
3,00

1,00
2,50

0,00
2,00 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Distancia(cm)
Distancia(cm)

Figura 11. Graph distance vs power, Connection of two coils

Figura 9. Graph distance vs frequency, Connection of two coils

IV-D2. Connection with ground: For the evaluation of the

IV-C2. Connection with ground: For the evaluation of the performance of the circuit with two coil connection its results
performance of the circuit, connection with ground, its results can be seen in Figure 12 , where the maximum obtained of
can be seen in Figure 10 , where the maximum obtained of the circuit power is approximately 4.3Wand it increases the
the circuit power is approximately 7.3 W and it increases the distance between coils power tends to decrease,in this case
distance between coils power tends to decrease, in this case shows that 60 cm power of 2.8W.
shows that 60 cm, the power is 3.6W.
5,00
4,50
8,00
4,00
7,50
3,50
7,00
Potencia (W)

3,00
6,50
y = 0,0019x2 - 0,2423x + 11,522 2,50
y = 9E-05x2 - 0,0516x + 5,4952
Potencia (W)

6,00 R = 0,90704 R = 0,8816

2,00
5,50 1,50
5,00 1,00
4,50 0,50
4,00 0,00
3,50 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Distancia (cm)
3,00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Distancia (cm)
Figura 12. Graph distance vs power, Connection with ground

Figura 10. Graph distance vs power, Connection with ground
IV-D. DATA FOR A LOAD OF 25W, PARALLEL CIRCUIT
For the analysis of the circuit is used a resistive load since
the inductive and capacitive components will depend on the
frequency, and the designed circuit works at high frequencies,
therefore not all the load can work at this frequency, since
they are designed frequency (60Hz).
IV-D1. Connection of two coils: For the evaluation of the
performance of the circuit with two coil connection its results
can be seen in Figure 11 , where the maximum obtained of
the circuit power is approximately 4.9W and it increases the
distance between coils power tends to decrease, in this case
shows that 60 cm, the power is 2.7 W.
During the evaluation of the circuit there were some
difficulties to carry out this objective. One of the difficulties
that arose in the process of gathering the data was with
measuring instruments, One of the difficulties that arose
in the process of gathering the data was with measuring
instruments, usually as a multimeter measuring instruments,
clamp meter are designed to work at industrial frequencies.
Warming of the transistors is presented at the time of
increases the distance of the receiver coil, this is because that
to greater distance tends to be the peaks of voltages.
To evaluate the circuit load selection needed a purely
resistive load that does not depend on the frequency since
that the circuit implemented works in high frequencies. At the
same time to assess the power supplied by the circuit was a
sweeping power-frequency voltage in order to find a curve that
TRANSMISION INALAMBRICA DE ENERGIA, VOL. 1, NO. 1, APRIL 2017 6

describes the behavior of the load power and by means of the

light intensity of the lamp set the power which it is supplying.

V. C ONCLUSIONS
It was noted that for a greater power on the load we
recommend more than one circuit (circuits in parallel), this
allows us to increase the power.

It was noted that to feed a resistive load of higher power

(in this case used a 25w incandescent bulb) it is essential to
put a capacitive component, in order to increase the parasitic
capacitance of the secondary winding, this allows us to
increase the current in the circuit.

It was noted that incorporating the capacitive component in

the circuit the resonance frequency reduces approximately in
a 30 %, for resonance frequency it is important that the same
parameters, have coil transmitting and receiver since they
must have the same frequency to be in resonance.

When the circuit goes into resonance this tends to keep

that frequency, increasing the distance is observed that
transistors tend to increase the temperature, but in less than
30 cm distance does increase in temperature.

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