Active Structural Acoustic Control of an Active Casing Placed in a Corner

Abstract

Electric appliances used in workplaces and everyday life often generate a low-frequency noise, which affects human body systems. Passive methods employed to reduce noise are not effective at low frequencies. The classical approach to active noise control practically involves the generation of local zones of quiet, whereas at other areas the noise is reinforced. Moreover, it usually requires a large number of secondary sound sources. Hence, an active casing approach has been developed. The active casing panels’ vibrations are controlled to reduce the device noise emission. Efficiency of this method has been previously confirmed by the authors and the results have been reported in multiple journal publications. However, in the previous research experiments, the active casing was placed at a distance from the enclosure walls. In this research, the active casing is located in a corner and such placement is intentionally used to facilitate the active control system’s operation. The noise reduction performance is investigated at multiple configurations, including a range of distances from the corner and different error microphone arrangements. The analysis of both primary and secondary paths is given. Advantages and drawbacks of different active casing configurations are presented and discussed.