Dynamics Modeling and Measurement of the Microvibrations for a Magnetically Suspended Flywheel

Microvibrations produced by high-speed flywheels can highly degrade the performance of precision instruments on satellites. Magnetically suspended flywheel (MSFW) is a promising attitude actuator for the ultraprecision satellites due to the convenient and effective microvibration suppression algorithm. The comprehensive microvibration characteristics of an MSFW are important for designing the microvibration suppression algorithm. This paper focuses on studying the microvibration characteristics of an MSFW with a specific magnetic bearing structure. A complete microvibration dynamical model of the MSFW, including the rotor dynamics, the magnetic bearing control system, and the microvibration sources, is developed. Simulations are performed to predict the microvibration characteristics according to the proposed theoretical model and experimental tests are conducted to measure the comprehensive microvibrations of the practical MSFW. Simulation and experimental results are compared to prove the validity of the proposed microvibration dynamical model. Thus, the proposed theoretical model can predict the microvibration characteristics of the MSFW and can be used to design the microvibration suppression algorithm in the future work.