Optimal Transducer Placement for Active Control of Sound Transmission through Aeroelastic Plates

This paper investigates the effect of convected fluid loading on the optimal locations of colocated transducers for static output feedback control of sound transmission through an aeroelastic plate.The model of a convected fluid loaded plate coupled to a cavity is presented. The physical dimensions and parameters of the model are chosen to replicate a small commercial aircraft. Development of the appropriate cost function and optimization algorithm is discussed in detail. Case studies optimizing a control system with one colocated velocity sensor and point force actuator are presented for external flow speeds varying from Mach 0.1 to Mach 0.8. The initial location of the sensor-actuator pair was selected arbitrarily. Results indicate that optimum transducer placement does not vary considerably over the flow speeds considered. However, in all flow cases the performance of the structural acoustic control system increased with transducer placement optimization. The greatest benefit being 7.9 dB for the Mach 0.8 case. Considerably greater reduction in the low frequency region was also noted after transducer placement optimization. For the Mach 0.8 case, cavity acoustic potential energy in the 1/3 octave band centered at 31.5 Hz decreased 30.1 dB after placement optimization.