Redundant BLDC motors control system for scientific uncrewed space missions

Abstract

Brushless DC (BLDC) motors are widely used in payloads of scientific space missions. To work with this type of motor it’s required to develop a complex control system considering basic technical requirements as well as the demands to reliability linked with the space application of the system. The basic technical requirements and the demands for the reliability of the system were formulated in the article. The block commutation algorithm was selected for the system since it’s simple and it doesn’t require using a high-performance processor and precision rotor position sensors. Based on the selected algorithm and the requirements structural scheme of the control system with redundancy features was designed. Further, schematics for output stages of the system were considered. They allowed connecting one set of motors and Hall sensors to both the main and the redundant control system. To test the structural and schematic solutions a prototype board was developed. The prototype was successfully tested and the solutions were verified.

Keywords

• spacecraft payload
• scientific payload
• brushless dc motor
• motor control
• block commutation
• hall sensor
• radiation hardness