A New Hybrid-Structure Machine With Multimode Fault-Tolerant Operation for Mars Rover

This paper presents a new hybrid-structure machine, which possesses the distinct merit of multimode fault-tolerant operation for driving Mars Rover. Namely, the proposed machine is designed with three operation modes, including Mode I for the normal operation, Mode II for the remedial field-excited operation, and Mode III for the remedial rotor operation. To obtain these operation modes, the machine design adopts the outer rotor structure with a segmented-iron ring and a special teeth-split inner stator. In this way, the proposed machine is capable of providing the desired torque output at low speeds under the normal or fault situations. Both the machine design principle and the corresponding results are given to verify the validity of the idea. Furthermore, the different combinations of the torque outputs under different operation modes for four-wheel motors of Mars Rover are analyzed and discussed.