A technique for improved stability of adaptive feedforward controllers without detailed uncertainty measurements

Model errors in adaptive controllers for reduction of broadband noise and vibrations may lead to unstable systems or increased error signals. Previous work has shown that the addition of a low-authority controller that increases damping in the system may lead to improved performance of an adaptive, high-authority controller. Other researchers have suggested to use frequency dependent regularization based on measured uncertainties. In this paper an alternative method is presented that avoids the disadvantages of these methods namely the additional complex hardware, and the need to obtain detailed information of the uncertainties. An analysis is made of an active noise control system in which a difference exists between the secondary path and the model as used in the controller. The real parts of the eigenvalues that determine the stability of the system are expressed in terms of the amount of uncertainty and the singular values of the secondary path. Based on these expressions, modifications of the feedforward control scheme are suggested that aim to improved performance without requiring detailed uncertainty measurements. For an active noise control system in a room it is shown that the technique leads to improved performance in terms of robustness and the amount of reduction of the error signals

Adaptive multichannel control of time-varying broadband noise and vibrations

This paper presents results obtained from a number of applications in which a recent adaptive algorithm for broadband multichannel active noise control is used. The core of the algorithm uses the inverse of the minimum-phase part of the secondary path for improvement of the speed of convergence. A further improvement of the speed of convergence is obtained by using double control filters for elimination of adaptation loop delay. Regularization was found to be necessary for robust operation. The regularization technique which is used preserves the structure to eliminate the adaptation loop delay. Depending on the application at hand, a number of extensions are used for this algorithm. For an application with rapidly changing disturbance spectra, the core algorithm was extended with an iterative affine projection scheme, leading to improved convergence rates as compared to the standard nomalized lms update rules. In another application, in which the influence of the parametric uncertainties was critical, the core algorithm was extended with low authority control loops operating at high sample rates. In addition, results of other applications are given, such as control of acoustic energy density and control of time-varying periodic and non-periodic vibrations

Rapidly converging multichannel controllers for broadband noise and vibrations

Applications are given of a preconditioned adaptive algorithm for broadband multichannel active noise control. Based on state-space descriptions of the relevant transfer functions, the algorithm uses the inverse of the minimum-phase part of the secondary path in order to improve the speed of convergence. A further improvement of the convergence rate is obtained by using double control filters for elimination of adaptation loop delay. Regularization was found to be essential for robust operation. The particular regularization technique preserves the structure to eliminate the adaptation loop delay. Depending on the application at hand, a number of extensions are used for this algorithm, such as for applications with rapidly changing disturbance spectra, applications with large parametric uncertainty, applications with control of time-varying acoustic energy density

Centralised and decentralised configurations for panels with piezoelectric actuators

This paper discusses configurations for controlling broadband noise using piezoelectrically excited panels. The configurations can be distinguished by the physical layout and by the control structure. The physical layout of the system has some influence on the complexity of the control algorithms. For particular actuator/sensor combinations and a particular control objective, the control architecture can be decentralized, using very simple feedback or feedforward controllers, at small performance loss when compared to a centralized architecture. For some applications that require a different control objective, an additional centralized or possibly distributed architecture could be beneficial. A hardware realization with an associated control framework that allows the implementation of such a combined centralized-decentralized architecture is shown. Examples that are given are an embedded central control unit with all electronics in a single module and a centralized-decentralized architecture with partly decentralized hardware that is integrated with structural parts

Correction of concentrated and distributed aberrations in medical ultrasound imaging

A method is presented for iterative correction of wave fields aberrated in a plane located at an arbitrary distance from an array transducer. The signals received from the transducer are processed by an inverse extrapolator in such a way that the output yields the transducer signals as if the transducer had been located directly at the position of the aberrator. For subsequent transmission cycles, the same inverse extrapolator is applied to delta pulses at time instants incorporating the time-reversed estimated aberration profile. The method can be applied to scattering and absorptive media, i.e. in medical conditions. The compensation of distributed aberration is also developed. It is shown that correction algorithms intended for concentrated aberrations can be used to reduce effects due to distributed aberrations; our conclusions with respect to the position of the equivalent concentrated aberrator differ from results reported in the literature. The method is demonstrated on realistic simulations of solid lesions, and cysts (voids) disturbed by intervening aberrating medi

Virtual sensors for local, three dimensional, broadband multiple-channel active noise control and the effects on the quiet zones

In this paper, two state of the art virtual sensor algorithms, i.e. the Remote Microphone Technique (RMT) and the Kalman filter based Virtual Sensing algorithm (KVS) are compared, in both state space (SS) and finite impulse response (FIR) implementations. The comparison focuses on the accuracy of the estimated sound pressure signals at the virtual locations and is based on actual measurements in a practical situation. The FIR implementation of the RMT algorithm was found to produce the most reliable results. It is implemented in a local, three dimensional, real-time, multiple-channel, broadband active noise control system. With this implementation, the benefits and limitations of the RMT-ANC system on the shape and size of the quiet zones are investigated

Combined MIMO adaptive and decentralized controllers for broadband active noise and vibration control

Recent implementations of multiple-input multiple-output adaptive controllers for reduction of broadband noise and vibrations provide considerably improved performance over traditional adaptive algorithms. The most significant performance improvements are in terms of speed of convergence, the \ud amount of reduction, and stability of the algorithm. Nevertheless, if the error in the model of the relevant transfer functions becomes too large then the system may become unstable or lose performance. On-line adaptation of the model is possible in principle but, for rapid changes in the model, necessitates \ud a large amount of additional noise to be injected in the system. It has been known for decades that a combination of high-authority control (HAC) and low-authority control (LAC) could lead to improvements with respect to parametric uncertainties and unmodeled dynamics. In this paper a full digital implementation of such a control system is presented in which the HAC (adaptive MIMO control) is implemented on a CPU and in which the LAC (decentralized control) is implemented on a high-speed Field Programmable Gate Array. Experimental results are given in which it is demonstrated that the HAC/LAC combination leads to performance advantages in terms of stabilization under parametric uncertainties and reduction of the error signal

Simulation of ultrasonic imaging with linear arrays in causal absorptive media

Rigorous and efficient numerical methods are presented for simulation of acoustic propagation in a medium where the absorption is described by relaxation processes. It is shown how FFT-based algorithms can be used to simulate ultrasound images in pulse-echo mode. General expressions are obtained for the complex wavenumber in a relaxing medium. A fit to measurements in biological media shows the appropriateness of the model. The wavenumber is applied to three FFT-based extrapolation operators, which are implemented in a weak form to reduce spatial aliasing. The influence of the absorptive medium on the quality of images obtained with a linear array transducer is demonstrated. It is shown that, for moderately absorbing media, the absorption has a large influence on the images, whereas the dispersion has a negligible effect on the images.\ud \u

Ultrasound wave propagation through rough interfaces: Iterative methods

Two iterative methods for the calculation of acoustic transmission through a rough interface\ud between two media are compared. The methods employ a continuous version of the conjugate\ud gradient technique. One method is based on plane-wave expansions and the other on boundary\ud integral equations and Green’s functions. A preconditioner is presented which improves the\ud convergence for spectra that include evanescent modes. The methods are compared with regard to\ud computational efficiency, rate of convergence, and residual error. The sound field differences are\ud determined for a focused ultrasound beam distorted by surfaces having a Gaussian roughness\ud spectrum. The differences are evaluated from the root-mean-square differences on the rough surface\ud and in the focal plane

Simulation of wave propagation through aberrating layers of biological media

Two iterative methods for the calculation of acoustic reflection and transmission at a rough interface between two media are compared. The methods are based on a continuous version of the conjugate gradient technique. One method is based on plane-wave expansions while the other method is based on boundary integral equations and Green's functions. The methods are compared with regard to computational efficiency, rate of convergence, and residual erro