Active noise control in a free field with virtual sensors

Performance evaluation of an active headrest system using a filtered-x least mean square/fourth algorithm with virtual sensing

In an active headrest system virtual sensing tends to transfer the spatial zone of quiet from the residual error microphone to the ear canal. An attempt has been made in this paper to develop an auxiliary filter based virtual sensing scheme integrated with the filtered-x least mean square/fourth algorithm for an active headrest. The performance of the proposed method has been evaluated experimentally using periodic and band limited white noise. Improved noise control performance has been observed for both periodic and broadband noise. The effect of causality constraint of the performance of the algorithm has also been tested.

Metamaterials for Acoustic Noise Filtering and Energy Harvesting

Artificial methods for noise filtering are required for the twenty-first century's Factory vision 4.0. From various perspectives of physics, noise filtering capabilities could be addressed in multiple ways. In this article, the physics of noise control is first dissected into active and passive control mechanisms and then further different physics are categorized to visualize their respective physics, mechanism, and target of their respective applications. Beyond traditional passive approaches, the comparatively modern concept for sound isolation and acoustic noise filtering is based on artificial metamaterials. These new materials demonstrate unique interaction with acoustic wave propagation exploiting different physics, which is emphasized in this article. A few multi-functional metamaterials were reported to harvest energy while filtering the ambient noise simultaneously. It was found to be extremely useful for next-generation noise applications where simultaneously, green energy could be generated from the energy which is otherwise lost. In this article, both these concepts are brought under one umbrella to evaluate the applicability of the respective methods. An attempt has been made to create groundbreaking transformative and collaborative possibilities. Controlling of acoustic sources and active damping mechanisms are reported under an active mechanism. Whereas Helmholtz resonator, sound absorbing, spring-mass damping, and vibration absorbing approaches together with metamaterial approaches are reported under a passive mechanism. The possible application of metamaterials with ventilation while performing noise filtering is reported to be implemented for future Smart Cities.

A study on coherence between virtual signal and physical signals in remote acoustic sensing

Remote acoustic sensing can be used to estimate the error signals in human ears without placing any physical microphones there. In this paper, the coherence between the signals picked up by physical microphones over a sphere surface and the signal obtained at the sphere center is investigated. Based on the multiple channel coherence formulas in the time domain and frequency domain, the relationship between the coherence and the placement of physical microphones is analyzed by numerical simulations first, then the experimental results obtained in a reverberation chamber and a car cabin are presented to verify the simulation results. Finally, a placement of physical microphones for active control of road noise in car cabins is discussed. Both the numerical and experimental results show that an upper limit frequency exists for accurate sound pressure estimation at the center of a sphere with the sound pressure on the sphere surface. For a sufficiently complex sound field such as that in a reverberation room or in a car, half the wavelength of the upper limit frequency is about the average distance among the physical microphones.

Feedforward multichannel virtual-sensing active control of noise through an aperture: Analysis on causality and sensor-actuator constraints

The multichannel implementation of the auxiliary-filter-based virtual-sensing (AF-VS) technique for active noise control applications is revisited and realized in the paper. Frequency-domain analysis based on random primary noise proves that the multichannel virtual-sensing active noise control (MVANC) technique can achieve optimal control at the desired virtual locations even if the signals at the physical and virtual microphones are not causally related. Further analysis on a number of sensor-actuator configurations shows that the MVANC technique achieves optimal control at the desired locations as long as the number of secondary sources does not exceed that of the physical error microphones. Furthermore, the simulations with measured transfer functions and real-time experiments conducted on a four-channel system validate the frequency domain analyses.

Estimation of the pressure at a listener's ears in an active headrest system using the remote microphone technique

The remote microphone technique is considered in this paper as a way of estimating the error signals at a listener's ears in an active headrest system using remotely installed monitoring microphones. A least-squares formulation for the optimal observation filter is presented, including a regularization factor that is chosen to satisfy both the estimation accuracy and robustness to uncertainties. The accuracy of the nearfield estimation is first investigated for a diffuse field via simulations. Additionally, simulations of a free field are also used to investigate the effect of the spatial directivity of the primary field. Finally, experiments in an anechoic chamber are conducted with 24 monitoring microphones around a dummy head positioned in an active headrest system. When six loudspeakers driven by uncorrelated random disturbances are used to generate the primary field, the best arrangement of monitoring microphones is considered, taking into account both accuracy and robustness.

Modeling local active sound control with remote sensors in spatially random pressure fields

A general formulation is presented for the optimum controller in an active system for local sound control in a spatially random primary field. The sound field in a control region is selectively attenuated using secondary sources, driven by reference sensors, all of which are potentially remote from this control region. It is shown that the optimal controller is formed of the combination of a least-squares estimation of the primary source signals from the reference signals, and a least-squares controller driven by the primary source signals themselves. The optimum controller is also calculated using the remote microphone technique, in both the frequency and the time domains. The sound field under control is assumed to be stationary and generated by an array of primary sources, whose source strengths are specified using a spectral density matrix. This can easily be used to synthesize a diffuse primary field, if the primary sources are uncorrelated and far from the control region, but can also generate primary fields dominated by contributions from a particular direction, for example, which is shown to significantly affect the shape of the resulting zone of quiet.

A nonlinear active noise control algorithm for virtual microphones controlling chaotic noise

In active noise control (ANC) systems, virtual microphones provide a means of projecting the zone of quiet away from the physical microphone to a remote location. To date, linear ANC algorithms, such as the filtered-x least mean square (FXLMS) algorithm, have been used with virtual sensing techniques. In this paper, a nonlinear ANC algorithm is developed for a virtual microphone by integrating the remote microphone technique with the filtered-s least mean square (FSLMS) algorithm. The proposed algorithm is evaluated experimentally in the cancellation of chaotic noise in a one-dimensional duct. The secondary paths evaluated experimentally exhibit non-minimum phase response and hence poor performance is obtained with the conventional FXLMS algorithm compared to the proposed FSLMS based algorithm. This is because the latter is capable of predicting the chaotic signal found in many physical processes responsible for noise. In addition, the proposed algorithm is shown to outperform the FXLMS based remote microphone technique under the causality constraint (when the propagation delay of the secondary path is greater than the primary path). A number of experimental results are presented in this paper to compare the performance of the FSLMS algorithm based virtual ANC algorithm with the FXLMS based virtual ANC algorithm.

Robust active noise control in the loadmaster area of a military transport aircraft

The active noise control (ANC) method is based on the superposition of a disturbance noise field with a second anti-noise field using loudspeakers and error microphones. This method can be used to reduce the noise level inside the cabin of a propeller aircraft. However, during the design process of the ANC system, extensive measurements of transfer functions are necessary to optimize the loudspeaker and microphone positions. Sometimes, the transducer positions have to be tailored according to the optimization results to achieve a sufficient noise reduction. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a controller design method for such narrow band ANC systems. The method can be seen as an extension of common transducer placement optimization procedures. In the presented method, individual weighting parameters for the loudspeakers and microphones are used. With this procedure, the tailoring of the transducer positions is replaced by adjustment of controller parameters. Moreover, the ANC system will be robust because of the fact that the uncertainties are considered during the optimization of the controller parameters. The paper describes the necessary theoretic background for the method and demonstrates the efficiency in an acoustical mock-up of a military transport aircraft.

Active noise control in a pure tone diffuse sound field using virtual sensing

Local active noise control systems generate a zone of quiet at the physical error sensor using one or more secondary sources to cancel acoustic pressure and its spatial derivatives at the sensor location. The resulting zone of quiet is generally limited in size and as such, placement of the error sensor at the location of desired attenuation is required, which is often inconvenient. Virtual acoustic sensors overcome this by projecting the zone of quiet away from the physical sensor to a remote location. The work described here investigates the effectiveness of using virtual sensors in a pure tone diffuse sound field. Stochastically optimal virtual microphones and virtual energy density sensors are developed for use in diffuse sound fields. Analytical expressions for the controlled sound field generated with a number of control strategies are presented. These expressions allow the optimal control performance to be predicted. Results of numerical simulations and experimental measurements made in a reverberation chamber are also presented and compared.

A moving zone of quiet for narrowband noise in a one-dimensional duct using virtual sensing

A frequent problem in active noise control is that the zone of quiet created at the error sensor tends to be very small. This means that the error sensor generally needs to be located close to an observer's ear, which might not always be a convenient or feasible solution. Virtual sensing is a method that can move the zone of quiet away from the error sensor to a desired location that is spatially fixed. This method has been investigated previously, and has shown potential to improve the performance of an active noise control system. However, it is very likely that the desired location of the zone of quiet is not spatially fixed. An active noise control system incorporating a virtual sensing method thus has to be able to create a moving zone of quiet that tracks the observer's ears. This paper presents a method for creating a moving zone of quiet based on the LMS virtual microphone technique. To illustrate the proposed method, it is implemented in an acoustic duct and narrowband control results are presented. These results show that a moving zone of quiet was effectively created inside the duct for narrowband noise.

Virtual sensing for broadband noise control in a lightly damped enclosure

Available virtual sensing schemes either depend on assumptions that are valid for isolated frequencies, or require heavy online adaptations. A simple method is proposed here to predict the virtual signal exactly for broadband noise control in a lightly damped enclosure. The proposed method requires two physical sensors installed judiciously in a sound field to predict a virtual signal. The method is based on an exact mathematical relation between the virtual and physical sensors, which is valid for the entire frequency of interest. It is possible to use multiple sensor-pairs to reduce the sensitivity of the proposed method with respect to acoustic parameters, such as speed of sound or sensor mismatching. Experimental results are presented to verify the analytical results.