Active Control of Propeller-Induced Noise in Aircraft : Algorithms a Methods (2000)

In the last decade acoustic noise has become more and more regarded as a problem. In cars, boats, trains and aircraft, low-frequency noise reduces comfort. Lightweight materials and more powerful engines are used in high-speed vehicles, resulting in a general increase in interior noise levels. Low-frequency noise is annoying and during periods of long exposure it causes fatigue and discomfort. The masking effect which low-frequency noise has on speech reduces speech intelligibility. Low-frequency noise is sought to be attenuated in a wide range of applications in order to improve comfort and speech intelligibility. The use of conventional passive methods to attenuate low-frequency noise is often impractical since considerable bulk and weight are required; in transportation large weight is associated with high fuel consumption. In order to overcome the problems of ineffective passive suppression of low-frequency noise, the technique of active noise control has become of considerable interest. The fundamental principle of active noise control is based on secondary sources producing ``anti-noise.'' Destructive interference between the generated and the primary sound fields results in noise attenuation. Active noise control systems significantly increase the capacity for attenuating low-frequency noise without major increase in volume and weight. This doctoral dissertation deals with the topic of active noise control within the passenger cabin in aircraft, and within headsets. The work focuses on methods, controller structures and adaptive algorithms for attenuating tonal low-frequency noise produced by synchronized or moderately synchronized propellers generating beating sound fields. The control algorithm is a central part of an active noise control system. A multiple-reference feedforward controller based on the novel actuator-individual normalized Filtered-X Least-Mean-Squares algorithm is introduced, yielding significant attenuation of such period noise. This algorithm is of the LMS-type, and owing to the novel normalization it can also be regarded as a Newton-type algorithm. The new algorithm combines low computational complexity with high performance. For that reason the algorithm is suitable for use in systems with a large number of control sources and control sensors in order to reduce the computional power required by the control system. The computational power of the DSP hardware is limited, and therefore algorithms with high computational complexity allow fewer control sources and sensors to be used, often with reduced noise attenuation as a result. In applications, such as controlling aircraft cabin noise, where a large multiple-channel system is needed to control the relative complex interior sound field, it is of great importance to keep down the computational complexity of the algorithm so that a large number of loudspeakers and microphones can be used. The dissertation presents theoretical work, off-line computer experiments and practical real-time experiments using the actuator-individual normalized algorithm. The computer experiments are principally based on real-life cabin noise data recorded during flight in a twin-engine propeller aircraft and in a helicopter. The practical experiments were carried out in a full-scale fuselage section from a propeller aircraft.