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A small reaction wheel viewed in profile A momentum/reaction wheel comprising part of a high-accuracy Conical Earth Sensor to maintain a satellite's precise attitude. A reaction wheel (RW) is an electric motor attached to a flywheel, which, when its rotation speed is changed, causes a counter-rotation proportionately through conservation of angular momentum. [1]
Momentum wheels are generally suspended on magnetic bearings to avoid bearing friction and breakdown problems. [5] Spacecraft Reaction wheels often use mechanical ball bearings. To maintain orientation in three dimensional space a minimum of three reaction wheels must be used, [ 6 ] with additional units providing single failure protection.
As an example, suppose a spacecraft equipped with two or more dual-gimbal CMGs experiences a transient unwanted torque, perhaps caused by reaction from venting waste gas, tending to make it roll clockwise about its forward axis and thus increase its angular momentum along that axis.
Spacecraft rotational operations, such as turning to point in a new direction, are usually performed by angular momentum storage devices such as reaction wheels or control moment gyroscopes. It is generally preferable to use these devices instead of traditional thrusters , as they are powered by renewable electricity instead of by propellant ...
Reaction control systems are capable of providing small amounts of thrust in any desired direction or combination of directions. An RCS is also capable of providing torque to allow control of rotation (roll, pitch, and yaw). [2] Reaction control systems often use combinations of large and small thrusters, to allow different levels of response.
The specific angular momentum of any conic orbit, h, is constant, and is equal to the product of radius and velocity at periapsis. At any other point in the orbit, it is equal to: [ 13 ] h = r v cos φ , {\displaystyle h=rv\cos \varphi ,} where φ is the flight path angle measured from the local horizontal (perpendicular to r .)
The speed is sometimes stabilised to prevent unwanted torque reaction. The internal friction losses are minimised by design. The momentum wheel(s) on a spacecraft is used in conjunction with reaction wheels. A set of momentum wheels 'translates' applied torque into a programmed direction. A momentum wheel can be configured as a CW or CCW unit.
The steps involved are same as the SIMPLE algorithm and the algorithm is iterative in nature. p*, u*, v* are guessed Pressure, X-direction velocity and Y-direction velocity respectively, p', u', v' are the correction terms respectively and p, u, v are the correct fields respectively; Φ is the property for which we are solving and d terms are involved with the under relaxation factor.