Reduction of radiated exterior noise from the flexible vibrating plate of a rectangular enclosure using multi-channel active control

Abstract This study attempted to control the radiated exterior noise from a rectangular enclosure in which an internal plate vibrates by acoustic excitation and noise is thus radiated from that plate. Multi-channel active control was applied to reduce the vibration and external radiation of this enclosed plate. A piezoelectric ceramic was used as a distributed actuator for multiple mode control of the vibration and radiated noise in the acoustically excited plate. To maximize the effective control, an approach was proposed for attachment the piezoelectric actuator in the optimal location. The plate and internal acoustic space in the enclosure are coupled with each other. This will change dominant frequency characteristics of the plate and, thus, those of the externally radiated noise. Active noise control was accomplished using an accelerometer attached to the plate and a microphone placed adjacent to that plate as an error sensor under acoustic excitation of sine wave and white noise. It was found that the control of radiated external radiation noise requires a microphone as an error sensor, a sound pressure sensor due to vibration of the plate, differences in the dominant frequency of externally radiated noise, and complex vibration modes of the plate.