Optimal Placement of Sensors and Actuators in Cluster Control of Acoustic Potential Energy in a Cavity

This paper aims the cluster control of acoustic potential energy in a structural/acoustic cavity. The cavity consists of five rigid walls and one flexible panel with clamped boundary conditions on all four edges. It is desired to suppress the acoustic noise within the cavity, produced by a disturbing force or plane wave. In order to perform noise suppression, both acoustic and structural actuators can be used, while only acoustic sensors are necessary for measurement. Cluster control approach classifies acoustic and structural modes such that they interfere if and only if they belong to the same cluster. Providing methods to actuate and measure each of these clusters individually, cluster control enables us to implement a multi-SISO system as opposed to a MIMO system, which can significantly reduce computational load on the controller. This paper also investigates the optimal placement of sensors and actuators for further noise suppression. It is shown that optimization is critically important when cluster control method is used. Optimal placement of sensors and actuators helps to improve the noise suppression, without increasing the cost of control system equipments. In order to locate the optimum positions, the genetic algorithm (GA) is employed. The effect of optimization on acoustic potential energy suppression is discussed using numerical simulations.