An early reaction-wheel concept for model rocketry, represented through CAD and animation to explore attitude control through angular momentum exchange.
PROJECT AT A GLANCE
Motor torque accelerates an internal flywheel. The equal and opposite reaction changes the surrounding body's attitude until wheel speed or available torque reaches a limit.
01 / Context
A reaction wheel changes a vehicle's attitude by accelerating or decelerating an internal rotating mass. The idea is common in spacecraft, but its usefulness depends on vehicle inertia, wheel inertia, motor torque, speed range, disturbance loads, and the duration over which control is needed.
This project used a CAD animation to communicate the mechanism and explore the concept at an early stage.
02 / Approach
The first-order design problem is angular momentum. Wheel size, mass distribution, and speed determine capacity; motor torque and control bandwidth determine how quickly that capacity can be used.
Mechanical design must also consider balancing, bearings, mounting stiffness, containment, power, and saturation. A wheel reaches a speed limit and cannot continue correcting in one direction indefinitely without a way to unload momentum.
03 / Result
The archived result is a conceptual CAD animation, not a validated flight system. No fabricated or flown performance is asserted.
As an early project, it provided a bridge between mechanical visualization and dynamics: the motion shown in CAD only becomes meaningful when tied to inertia, torque, and control requirements.
04 / Reflection
Animation can demonstrate intended motion but cannot establish control performance. The governing quantities must be calculated and then checked against measured hardware behavior.
A future bench project would start with a low-energy contained wheel, measure speed and torque response, identify friction, and test attitude influence on a safely suspended body.