Tacho Pulse Non-uniformity Effects on Pulse Count Method

Pulse count method is the classical reaction wheel speed detection method. In this study, we represent the pulse count method as mathematical equations. Instead of rotation speed, we model the reaction wheel rotation through rotation angle during sampling periods. We verified the effectiveness of the proposed model by comparing the pulse counts variation and averaging method effects from the model and previous research results. Then, we add tacho pulse non-uniformity to this verified model, and examine the errors of pulse count method. We express the measurement error increasement due to non-uniformity as mathematical equations, and also shows the requirement of moving average numbers to offset the measurement errors.