Active control of cylindrical shells using the weighted sum of spatial gradients control metric

Abstract

Often it is desired to reduce the sound radiated from vibrating structures, including cylindrical shells. Active structural acoustic control (ASAC) provides a means to control the structural radiation at low frequencies efficiently and effectively. The technique of using the weighted sum of spatial gradients (WSSG) as a control metric has been developed previously for flat structures. This paper will investigate control of WSSG for cylindrical shells. There are specific features associated with WSSG that tend to provide effective control of radiated sound power. The method has also been shown to be quite robust with respect to error sensor location. The effectiveness of WSSG control has been investigated through the use of radiation modes for cylindrical shells, which allows us to determine the radiated sound power both before and after control. Results using WSSG control will be reported, along with comparisons of the results obtained with some of the other possible control approaches reported previously.