A Method for Current Control of the Flywheel Energy Storage System Used in Satellites

Abstract

Satellites have a dark region and a bright region in their orbit path. The flywheel energy storage unit is an electric energy provider for a satellite in the dark region. Brushless dc motors (BLDC) are used in the flywheel energy storage unit. The current surge of the BLDC motors is an undesirable situation for solar panels which are used in the satellite motion systems and satellite power systems. Therefore, the current reference method (CRM) is preferred in these systems. The setting of the controller parameters (proportional (P), integral (I) and derivative (D)) is an important problem for the control of the BLDC motor current. Optimum performance cannot be obtained by the calculation of PID parameters using conventional methods. In recent years, hybrid genetic algorithms (GA) are used in the solution of complex problems. In this study, a CRM method was proposed to protect the satellite power system and solar panels. The defined block diagram for the CRM method was used to control the current of the BLDC. In order to calculate conventional method and hybrid GA-based method, the performance of the PID controllers was compared by using MATLAB/SimPowerSystem blocks.