Feedforward active noise controller design in ducts without independent noise source measurements

Feedforward control architectures have been widely used in active noise control systems to achieve broad-band noise reductions. The basic principle of the control algorithm requires that the feedforward signal, usually the noise source, be independent from the actuator's output. Failure to meet this requirement implies that the overall system contains an acoustic feedback loop and stability and robustness issues become important. The paper investigates this problem in a one-dimensional sound field (e.g., ducts) using a unidirectional sound wave as the feedforward signal. Controller design based on a distributed parameter model is studied. Several experiments are conducted to illustrate the design procedure as well as verify the effectiveness of broad-band noise reductions.