Precise braking torque control for attitude control flywheel with small inductance brushless DC motor

In this paper, a newly designed braking torque control scheme with improved toque estimation and control characteristics in a small inductance brushless DC motor is presented. The motor torque is estimated according to the back electromotive force (EMF) shape function that is fitted by neural network and corrected by temperature. Upon this, a hybrid braking torque control structure that combines dynamic braking and plug braking is proposed for the smooth and continuous braking torque. These two braking modes operate, respectively, in the relatively high- and low-speed ranges. During dynamic braking, a predictive torque control method is proposed to suppress the torque fluctuation that is induced by the supplying voltage namely back EMF descent. During plug braking, an effective torque ripple reduction method is designed to weaken the large torque ripple which is caused by high winding voltage, low winding impedance, and three-phase inverter modulation. In addition, different pulse width modulation patterns and the most suitable operating conditions for each braking mode have been studied. Finally, experimental results are presented to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed braking torque control scheme.