Active control of sound radiation from fluid loaded plates

Active control of sound radiation due to subsonic wave scattering from an infinite or a finite fluid-loaded plate excited below the critical frequency is analytically studied. The disturbance is caused by a flexural wave in an infinite plate, or by a point force on a finite plate at subsonic frequencies. The wave scattering is caused by discontinuities on the plate or by the boundary conditions.

A feed-forward control approach is applied by implementing either point/line forces or piezoelectric actuators on the plate. The amplitude and phase of control forces are determined by the optimal solution of a cost function which minimizes the far-field radiated acoustic power over a prescribed surface in the half space of the fluid field.

The results show that for subsonic excitations, high global reduction in radiated pressure is possible with properly located active control forces. The number and location of control forces employed in order to obtain high control performance are related to the excitation frequency. The far-field sound radiation directivity pattern, the modal amplitudes of the plate vibration, the plate vibration autospectrum in the wave number domain, and the near-field intensity distribution are extensively studied in order to uncover the mechanisms of control.