A non-intrusive fluid-wave actuator and sensor pair for the active control of fluid-borne vibrations in a pipe

Abstract

This paper describes the design of a non-intrusive fluid-wave actuator and sensor pair for use in an active control system to control fluid-borne vibrations in pipework systems. Piping systems can be excited by sources such as pumps and compressors and vibrational energy can propagate both in the pipe wall and the fluid. The transducers developed in this paper are designed only for the control of the fluid-borne vibrational energy. A theoretical framework is developed that integrates the transducers into the pipe and couples them to the motion of the fluid inside the pipe. A hydraulic actuator driven with a magnetostrictive element and fitted to a water-filled perspex pipe has been designed and tested. The sensor was made from piezoelectric elements fitted around the outer circumference of the pipe. Experimental results show that the actuator is capable of suppressing a propagating fluid-wave, but in doing so it increases the vibration of the pipe-wall in the vicinity of the actuator. When the sensor is employed as an error sensor together with the actuator in the frequency range 10 - 1000 Hz, a reduction in the fluid-wave amplitude of around 20 dB is possible.