Browsing by Author "Großmann, Steffen"

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Open Access
Development of a ferrofluid-based attitude control actuator for verification on the ISS
(2024) Zajonz, Sebastian; Korn, Christian; Großmann, Steffen; Dietrich, Janoah; Kob, Maximilian; Philipp, Daniel; Turco, Fabrizio; Steinert, Michael; O’Donohue, Michael; Heinz, Nicolas; Gutierrez, Elizabeth; Wagner, Alexander; Bölke, Daniel; Sütterlin, Saskia; Schneider, Maximilian; Remane, Yolantha; Kreul, Phil; Wank, Bianca; Buchfink, Manuel; Acker, Denis; Hofmann, Sonja; Karahan, Bahar; Ruffner, Silas; Ehresmann, Manfred; Schäfer, Felix; Herdrich, Georg
Ferrofluid-based systems provide an opportunity for increasing the durability and reliability of systems, where mechanical parts are prone to wear and tear. Conventional reaction control systems are based on mechanically mounted rotating disks. Due to inherent friction, they suffer from degradation, which may eventually lead to failure. This problem is further intensified due to the limited possibility for repair and maintenance. Ferrofluid-based systems aim to replace mechanical components by exploiting ferrofluidic suspended motion. Ferrofluids consist of magnetic nanoparticles suspended in a carrier fluid and can be manipulated by external magnetic fields. This paper describes the working principle, design, and integration of a working prototype of a ferrofluid-based attitude control system (ACS), called Ferrowheel. It is based on a stator of a brushless DC motor in combination with a rotor on a ferrofluidic bearing. The prototype will be verified in a microgravity environment on the International Space Station, as part of the Überflieger 2 student competition of the German Aerospace Center. First ground tests deliver positive results and confirm the practicability of such a system.
Open Access
Ferrofluid reaction wheel development and in-orbit verification
(2025) Ehresmann, Manfred; Zajonz, Sebastian; Korn, Christian; Großmann, Steffen; Dietrich, Janoah; Kob, Maximilian; Philipp, Daniel; Turco, Fabrizio; Steinert, Michael; O’Donohue, Michael; Heinz, Nicolas; Gutierrez, Elizabeth; Wagner, Alexander; Bölke, Daniel; Sütterlin, Saskia; Schneider, Maximilian; Remane, Yolantha; Kreul, Phil; Wank, Bianca; Buchfink, Manuel; Acker, Denis; Hofmann, Sonja; Karahan, Bahar; Ruffner, Silas; Schäfer, Felix; Herdrich, Georg
In contemporary satellite systems, the Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS) manages internal torque generation primarily through Reaction Wheels (RW) and Control Moment Gyros (CMG), which use mechanically mounted rotating disks to control orientation without expelling mass. Unlike magnetorquers, which interact with Earth’s magnetic field, or thruster-based Reaction Control Systems (RCS), which generate external forces by expelling propellant, RW and CMG systems rely solely on momentum exchange within the spacecraft. While state-of-the-art RWs are highly reliable and have demonstrated exceptional performance over decades of operation, their design still presents inherent challenges, such as wear, nonlinear friction effects, and tribological degradation of contact surfaces. These challenges are critical in space, where repairs are impractical and/or resource-intense. Consequently, engineers have devoted significant effort to developing robust and reliable mechanical reaction wheels. This paper explores an innovative proof-of-concept design based on a fluid-magnetic system utilizing ferrofluids and permanent magnets. This study aims to address limitations of traditional RWs by eliminating mechanical interfaces susceptible to wear and tear and replacing them with a low friction ferrofluidic bearing. Ferrofluid-based system concepts can offer a longer life due to reduced wear and tear, lower production costs by requiring less exotic materials and tolerances, self-center within the provided magnetic potential field and can therefore exhibit reduced vibration behavior. The Ferrowheel experiment, flown as part of the FARGO mission ( Überflieger 2 competition of the space agency within DLR) in March and April 2023, demonstrated the feasibility of ferrofluidic bearings for attitude control in ISS microgravity. These results contribute to exploration of innovative reaction wheel technologies, highlighting the potential of fluid-based systems for applications requiring enhanced robustness and reduced mechanical wear.