Authors : O. B. Musa; C. T. Tofade; E. O. Oyewole; K. O. Orji-Daniels; O. E. Haruna

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 8 - August

---

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/y434mmuh

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26aug1575

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

---

Abstract : Reaction wheels are widely used as momentum-exchange actuators for spacecraft attitude control; however, conventional mechanical bearings introduce friction, wear, imbalance forces, and microvibrations that can affect pointing accuracy. Active magnetic bearings (AMBs) provide a contactless alternative by actively regulating electromagnetic forces to maintain rotor position. This paper presents the design and implementation of an AMB control system for a laboratoryscale reaction wheel using electromagnetic actuators, non-contact displacement sensors, current-controlled power amplifiers, a digital controller, and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control.

Keywords : Active Magnetic Bearing, Reaction Wheel, Spacecraft Attitude Control, Magnetic Levitation, Rotor Dynamics, PID Control, Microvibration, Electromagnetic Actuator.

References :

1. M. Scharfe, A. O. P. Schofield, and related authors, “Low noise five-axis magnetic bearing reaction wheel,” IFAC Proceedings Volumes, vol. 39, no. 16, pp. 572–577, 2006, doi: 10.3182/20060912-3-DE-2911.00100.
2. Y. Park, “Design and implementation of an electromagnetic levitation system for active magnetic bearing wheels,” IET Control Theory & Applications, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 139–148, 2014, doi: 10.1049/iet-cta.2013.0450.
3. Q. Han, S. Gao, and F. Chu, “Micro-vibration analysis, suppression, and isolation of spacecraft flywheel rotor systems: A review,” Vibration, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 229–263, 2024, doi: 10.3390/vibration7010013.
4. T. Hughes, M. Lo, G. Aglietti, and V. Yotov, “Design optimization of reaction wheel assembly characteristics to reduce spacecraft vibrations,” in Proc. AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum, 2022, doi: 10.2514/6.2022-0527.
5. C. Bifa, J. Liao, J. Yan, et al., “A multi-point decentralized control for mitigating vibration of flexible space structures using reaction wheel actuators,” Scientific Reports, vol. 14, Art. no. 10326, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-60702-6.
6. L. Yang, Y.-S. Wang, L. Wei, and Y. Chen, “Identification of reaction wheel assembly disturbances based on variable modal frequencies,” Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, vol. 205, Art. no. 110868, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2023.110868.
7. M. M. Longato, T. Hughes, V. Yotov, and G. S. Aglietti, “Microvibration simulation of reaction wheel ball bearings,” Journal of Sound and Vibration, vol. 567, Art. no. 117909, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.jsv.2023.117909.
8. T. Hughes, M. M. Longato, V. Yotov, and G. S. Aglietti, “A predictive model for reaction wheel assembly microvibration,” Acta Astronautica, vol. 230, pp. 39–53, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.02.006.
9. Ł. Breńkacz, Ł. Witanowski, M. Drosińska-Komor, and N. Szewczuk-Krypa, “Research and applications of active bearings: A state-of-the-art review,” Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, vol. 151, Art. no. 107423, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2020.107423.
10. S. Saha, S. M. Amrr, J. K. Bhutto, A. A. AlJohani, and M. Nabi, “Fuzzy logic control of five-DOF active magnetic bearing system based on sliding mode concept,” Frontiers in Control Engineering, vol. 3, Art. no. 1008134, 2022, doi: 10.3389/fcteg.2022.1008134.
11. A. Morsi, H. S. Abbas, S. M. Ahmed, and A. M. Mohamed, “Imbalance compensation of active magnetic bearing systems using model predictive control based on linear parameter-varying models,” Journal of Vibration and Control, vol. 29, nos. 15–16, 2023, doi: 10.1177/10775463221099074.
12. P. K. Saini, B. Pratap, and P. Kumar, “Adaptive gain scheduling based event-triggering control design for robust performance of active magnetic bearing,” Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part I: Journal of Systems and Control Engineering, vol. 238, no. 5, 2024, doi: 10.1177/09596518231210978.
13. D. C. Hsiao and M. F. Hsieh, “Design and implementation of novel homopolar magnetic bearings incorporated in reaction wheel for satellite attitude control,” IEEE Access, vol. 11, pp. 66374–66381, 2023, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3290308.
14. S. Debnath, U. Das, P. K. Biswas, B. Aljafari, and S. B. Thanikanti, “Design and control of multicoil active magnetic bearing system for high-speed application,” Energies, vol. 16, no. 11, Art. no. 4447, 2023, doi: 10.3390/en16114447.
15. A. Sahinkaya and J. T. Sawicki, “Robust control of active magnetic bearing systems with an add-on controller to cancel gyroscopic effects: Is it worth it?” Journal of Vibration and Control, vol. 27, nos. 23–24, 2021, doi: 10.1177/1077546320966194.
16. K. N. V. Prasad and G. Narayanan, “Electromagnetic bearings with power electronic control for high-speed rotating machines: Review, analysis, and design example,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 57, no. 5, pp. 4946–4957, 2021, doi: 10.1109/TIA.2021.3093013.
17. A. M. Mabrouk, O. Ksentinia, N. Fekia, M. S. Abbesa, and M. Haddara, “Nonlinear Lyapunov-based control of a misaligned heteropolar magnetic bearing system,” Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. 563–579, 2023, doi: 10.1080/02533839.2023.2227868.
18. L. Magdolen, I. Kevický, J. Danko, G. Sammarah, and T. Milesich, “Control of active magnetic bearings,” Strojnícky časopis – Journal of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 63–74, 2024, doi: 10.2478/scjme-2024-0007.
19. D. Dutta, P. K. Biswas, S. Debnath, and F. Ahmad, “Advancements and challenges in active magnetic bearings: A comprehensive review of performance, control, and future prospects,” IEEE Access, vol. 13, pp. 3051–3071, 2025, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3523205.
20. M. Mancuzo, R. M. Finzi Neto, A. A. Cavallini Jr., and V. Steffen Jr., “Design and implementation of a low-cost active magnetic bearing,” Journal of Vibration Engineering & Technologies, vol. 12, no. 3, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s42417-023-01018-z.
21. Z.-Q. Hu, L. Yang, Y.-S. Wang, L. Wei, and Y. Chen, “Tuned mass damper on spacecraft reaction wheel assembly,” Applied Acoustics, vol. 210, Art. no. 109456, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.apacoust.2023.109456.
22. V. Lafarga, R. Jamshidi, G. Rodrigues, R. Seiler, and C. Collette, “Multi-degree-of-freedom active isolation platform for microvibrations,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 61, no. 1, 2024, doi: 10.2514/1.A35550.
23. L. Yang, Y.-S. Wang, L. Wei, and Y. Chen, “A novel identification method for micro-vibration analysis of reaction wheel assembly,” Acta Astronautica, vol. 196, pp. 94–106, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2022.04.013.
24. S. Deng, X. Cheng, H. Wu, and Y. Hu, “Multi-objective optimization configuration of redundant electromagnetic actuators in fault-tolerant control of active magnetic bearing system,” ISA Transactions, vol. 140, pp. 293–308, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.isatra.2023.06.015.