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SUMMARY:MEchanics GAthering –MEGA– Seminar: Falling cat flexure-based 
 bearingless reaction wheel
DTSTART:20221201T161500
DTEND:20221201T171500
DTSTAMP:20260414T072342Z
UID:9bbd0b103f659157d117009c7a5d10ad715f105509506695df339cb1
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Patrick Flückiger (INSTANT-LAB\, EPFL)\nAbstract\nToday’s m
 ain device for controlling the orientation of satellites is the reaction w
 heel.  This consists in a motorized flywheel which is accelerated/deceler
 ated in order to export torque to the spacecraft by Newton’s third law o
 f action/reaction. Ball bearings are the current solution for the flywheel
 \, however\, these have a number of issues such as wear\, a limited lifeti
 me\, friction and stiction. This talk will present an alternative mechani
 sm which has the same properties as a conventional reaction wheel\, but wh
 ich contains no rotating bearings and is implemented entirely with flexure
 s. The benefits of this solution are the absence of wear\, friction and st
 iction as well as vacuum-compatibility and extended lifetime. It so happen
 s that this mechanism follows the dynamics of a falling cat which manages 
 to re-orient itself during a fall in order to land on its feet.\n\nBio\nPa
 trick obtained a Bachelor's and Master's degree from EPFL in Microengineer
 ing\, with a specialisation in Optics and a background in Life Sciences. H
 e then worked at Instant-lab\, EPFL\, for two years on diverse flexure-bas
 ed mechanisms. He started a PhD back at Instant-lab in August 2022 under 
 the supervision of Prof. S. Henein. His research focuses on creating the f
 lexure equivalent of a reaction wheel for spacecraft attitude control.\n 
LOCATION:MED 2 2423 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MED%202%202423 https://epf
 l.zoom.us/j/65022317743?pwd=alFuM0NVUUdxWWpRT0ZxeDUxa0lmUT09
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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