A hybrid approach to active and passive noise control for open windows

Abstract

This research focuses on the use of an open window with an active noise control (ANC) system and a splitter silencer to improve the attenuation level of broadband noise. We previously introduced a similar idea with a splitter silencer and a loudspeaker inside a duct. However, it is challenging to achieve noise reduction with a splitter silencer in a short duct. In our previous research, we achieved noise reduction at an open window with an array of ANC units, in which a reference microphone with a loudspeaker is collocated. However, this system had limited high-frequency noise reduction due to the distance between each loudspeaker. Here, we improved noise reduction by integrating a collocated ANC system and a splitter silencer, which has an open ratio of 50%. Each unit has a reference microphone at the front and a loudspeaker at the back, which generate anti-noise. Four units are combined in an array with a splitter silencer. In an experiment, we implemented two splitter silencers in an eight-channel ANC system at an open window (24 × 48 × 12 cm). The results show that the splitter silencers attenuated high-frequency noise above 2 kHz. Moreover, the ANC system achieved an attenuation of 2 to 10 dB for noise in the range of 200 Hz to 2 kHz. Overall, we were able to achieve a total attenuation of 2 to 17 dB above 200 Hz.