Design and optimization of a high torque density actuator for spatial applications

For more than half a century, humankind has made use of satellites, essential to the everyday life of billions of people on Earth. With the continuous emergence of new techonologies, daunting challenges arise. A major one was to find a sustainable source of energy for these satellites. Hence, researchers came up with solar panels, and the undeniable drive system that comes with it. So far, these drive systems were all based on the same kind of machine: the stepper motor. But, wouldn't there be an alternative to this type of machine? If so, what are the aspects that would be better in this new technology compared to the current solution? This work is making an attempt to answer both of these questions by taking into consideration the drawbacks of the stepper motor techonology, and trying to overcome them by using a new implementation based on flexible printed circuit boards as windings of the stator. A new analytical model for the machine considered in the scope of this thesis has been developed, and heavily documented. Several validations have been made to make sure that the results match closely enough the reality. Several optimization approaches have been considered to derive the best machine possible. At the end, the major results are shown and analyzed.