摘要 |
<p>Methods (150,200,300) and apparatus (10,20) are provided for reaction wheel (RW) assemblies (20-1,20-2,...) for spacecraft. The apparatus (10,20) comprises a motor-generator M/G (24) coupled to an inertia wheel (22) and a controller (26) coupled to the M/G (24) that, in response to commands it receives, couples power to or from an M/G (24) of another RW assembly (20-1,20-2,...) over a shared transfer connection (V XFR ) (48), so that one M/G (24-1) acts as a generator powering another M/G (24-2) acting as a motor. The controller (26) compares generator voltage V GEN to the back electro motive force BEMF of the motor (24-2) on V XFR (48) and reconfigures a multi-winding M/G (24) or steps-up the generated voltage to maintain V GEN > V XFR to maximize direct energy transfer from one RW (21-1) to the other (21-2) as long as possible. When V GEN declines sufficiently, the controller (26-2) can couple the motor (24-2) to the spacecraft power bus (44) and/or the generator (24-1) to a power dump (46) so as to continue to provide the commanded torque if needed. Operation is automatic.</p> |