Virtual sensing for broadband noise control in a lightly damped enclosure

Available virtual sensing schemes either depend on assumptions that are valid for isolated frequencies, or require heavy online adaptations. A simple method is proposed here to predict the virtual signal exactly for broadband noise control in a lightly damped enclosure. The proposed method requires two physical sensors installed judiciously in a sound field to predict a virtual signal. The method is based on an exact mathematical relation between the virtual and physical sensors, which is valid for the entire frequency of interest. It is possible to use multiple sensor-pairs to reduce the sensitivity of the proposed method with respect to acoustic parameters, such as speed of sound or sensor mismatching. Experimental results are presented to verify the analytical results.     

Adaptive active noise and vibration control systems

A review of research concerned with adaptive noise and vibration control systems and performed under the supervision of Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.A. Zverev at Nizhni Novgorod State University in the 1980s and 1990s is presented. The history of the subject is briefly outlined, and the theoretical foundations of the design of adaptive active control systems for random wave fields are considered. The main experimental studies performed in this area of research at the Department of Bionics and Statistical Radiophysics of Nizhni Novgorod State University are described. Promising lines of research in this area are indicated, and examples of the practical application of adaptive control systems are given.     

Minimax design of vibration absorbers for linear damped systems

This paper addresses the issue of design of a passive vibration absorber in the presence of uncertainties in the forcing frequency. A minimax problem is formulated to determine the parameters of a vibration absorber which minimize the maximum motion of the primary mass over the domain of the forcing frequency. The limiting solutions corresponding to the forcing frequency being unrestricted and to that where the forcing frequency is known exactly, are shown to match those available in the literature. The transition of the optimal vibration absorber parameters between the extreme two cases is presented and the solutions are generalized by permitting the mass ratio of the absorber mass and the primary mass to be design parameters. For the specific case where the primary system is undamped, detailed analysis is presented to determine the transition of the optimal vibration absorber parameters between three distinct domains of solutions.     

A method for modal identification of lightly damped structures

In many cases modal tests are conducted on individual components of complex engineering structures where interest is confined to deriving an undamped model of the structure. A method is proposed for this task which demands a minimum of input data and which, in particular, does not require accurate measurements around resonance. The method is simple to program and its application to various practical structures is described.     

External damping losses in measuring the vibration damping properties in lightly damped specimens using transient time-domain methods

The contaminating effect of external damping sources to the overall measured damping of mechanical structures has always been an issue. Although these sources are qualitatively known, they are often not considered if damping properties are experimentally determined, yielding erroneous results. The aim of this paper is to quantify some of these undesired effects on the overall measured damping value. Free vibrations of steel plate specimens are used to list up several causes of external damping sources. As small modifications to the test setup may lead to totally different results, appropriate actions are offered to design a more accurate test setup. Known observations, such as the damping value’s dependence on the specimen size and the excitation level, are confirmed. Finally, it is shown that the damping capacity of one type of steel alloy can usually not be generalised to other steel alloys.     

The decoupling of damped linear systems in free or forced vibration

The purpose of this paper is to extend classical modal analysis to decouple any viscously damped linear system in non-oscillatory free vibration or in forced vibration. Based upon an exposition of how exponential decay in a system can be regarded as imaginary oscillations, the concept of damped modes of imaginary vibration is introduced. By phase synchronization of these real and physically excitable modes, a time-varying transformation is constructed to decouple non-oscillatory free vibration. When time drifts caused by viscous damping and by external excitation are both accounted for, a time-varying decoupling transformation for forced vibration is derived. The decoupling procedure devised herein reduces to classical modal analysis for systems that are undamped or classically damped. This paper constitutes the second and final part of a solution to the “classical decoupling problem.” Together with an earlier paper, a general methodology that requires only the solution of a quadratic eigenvalue problem is developed to decouple any damped linear system.     

An analysis of the distortion effects of Coulomb damping on the vector plots of lightly damped systems

An analysis of the vector plot responses of lightly damped single degree-of-freedom systems with Coulomb damping has been made. The vector plots, as derived by using both an exact and an approximate method (the method of harmonic balance) are compared and it is shown that the distortion of the normally circular vector locus is due to the Coulomb damping. Although the vector plots of such systems are distorted it is also shown that the frequency gradient criterion is still applicable for location of a natural frequency even when the frictional force levels approach the excitation force levels. To permit estimation of the modal damping of these systems a criterion by means of which the limits of the useful frequency range can be specified is suggested. The criterion, which is based upon the quadrature input power necessary to excite the mode of vibration, is found to be equivalent to that obtained from the half power point theory when applied to linear systems.     

Ground-borne noise and vibration from underground rail systems

Ground-borne noise is one of the main causes of environmental impact from urban rail transit systems. The vibration resulting from track-train interaction is transmitted through the tunnel 3tructure and the surrounding ground to adjacent buildings. The resulting vibrations of the walls and floors of these buildings cause secondary radiation of noise. This paper presents a method for estimating A-weighted sound levels as well as noise and vibration spectra due to ground-transmitted vibration in buildings near subways.     

On the estimation of loss factors in lightly damped pipeline systems: Some measurement techniques and their limitations

Two alternative digital techniques for measuring modal and band averaged internal loss factors in lightly damped pipeline systems are described. In the first the attenuation of the amplitude of each resonance in the frequency domain is monitored at specific time intervals after removal of the excitation source. This is achieved by amplitude tracking specific spectral components in the transformed signal. The second method involves the usage of constant bandwidth random noise burst excitation. The decaying response signal is subsequently digitally filtered and averaged. Both techniques produce reliable estimates and generally provide lower loss factors than would otherwise be obtained by existing techniques such as the steady state power flow technique. They also allow for in situ estimation via the power balance equation. Furthermore, amplitude tracking can provide information about possible coupling between groups of modes, and the subsequent energy transfer between them. The experiments show that when a resonant mode is capable of energy exchange, its loss factor varies depending on how it is excited.     

Design of passive vibration controls for internally damped beams by modal control techniques

Modern modal control techniques are applied to the design of dynamic absorbers for the control of transient vibrations of internally damped thin uniform beams. Parameters and locations of single and dual absorbers are chosen so that the overall system approximates a desired characteristic polynomial.     

Surface perturbation technique for flow-induced vibration and noise control

A novel surface perturbation technique has been developed recently and applied to control fluid-structure interactions, including vortex streets, flow-induced vibrations and vortex-induced noise. In this article, we summarize this technique, major applications, control performances, and possible physical mechanisms responsible for flow modification, drag reduction, controlling fluctuating forces/structural vibrations, and noise control.     

Definition of road roughness parameters for tire vibration noise control

Road roughness plays an important role in the generation of tire vibration noise. However, it is unclear which kinds of road roughness parameters should be controlled to reduce the noise. In this paper, we define the essential road roughness parameters that govern tire tread vibration and provide information on tire/road noise abatement. The detailed effects of road roughness parameters on tire tread vibration are estimated using a tire/road contact model. The results reveal that pavement asperity height itself is not an essential parameter, but asperity height unevenness, asperity radius, and asperity spacing are important for the abatement of tire vibration noise.     

Diagnostic methods in the control of railway noise and vibration

A method for investigating urban railway vibrations by using diagnostic measurement techniques is discussed and some preliminary results are shown. It is suggested that diagnostic methods could form a useful complement to empirical and analytical vibration prediction models in this field.     

Active vibration control in Duffing mechanical systems using dynamic vibration absorbers

This paper deals with the multi-frequency harmonic vibration suppression problem in forced Duffing mechanical systems using passive and active linear mass–spring–damper dynamic vibration absorbers. An active vibration absorption scheme is proposed to extend the vibrating energy dissipation capability of a passive dynamic vibration absorber for multiple excitation frequencies and, simultaneously, to perform reference position trajectory tracking tasks planned for the nonlinear primary system. A differential flatness-based disturbance estimation scheme is also described to estimate the unknown multiple time-varying frequency disturbance signal affecting the differentially flat nonlinear vibrating mechanical system dynamics. Some numerical simulation results are provided to show the efficient performance of the proposed active vibration absorption scheme and the fast estimation of the vibration disturbance signal.     

Design optimization of a damped hybrid vibration absorber

In this article, the H_∞ optimization design of a hybrid vibration absorber (HVA), including both passive and active elements, for the minimization of the resonant vibration amplitude of a single degree-of-freedom (sdof) vibrating structure is derived by using the fixed-points theory. The optimum tuning parameters are the feedback gain, the tuning frequency, damping and mass ratios of the absorber. The effects of these parameters on the vibration reduction of the primary structure are revealed based on the analytical model. Design parameters of both passive and active elements of the HVA are optimized for the minimization of the resonant vibration amplitude of the primary system. One of the inherent limitations of the traditional passive vibration absorber is that its vibration absorption is low if the mass ratio between the absorber mass and the mass of the primary structure is low. The proposed HVA overcomes this limitation and provides very good vibration reduction performance even at a low mass ratio. The proposed optimized HVA is compared to a recently published HVA designed for similar propose and it shows that the present design requires less energy for the active element of the HVA than the compared design.     

Non-trivial effect of fast vibration on the dynamics of a class of non-linearly damped mechanical systems

The effect of very high-frequency excitation on the slow dynamics of a class of non-linearly damped mechanical oscillators is considered. Two different models of damping namely, piecewise linear and pth power damping are considered. Fast excitation is modelled as triangular, sinusoidal and random base excitation. The effect of fast excitation is theoretically analyzed using the method of direct partition of motion (MDPM) and direct simulation. The method of numerical averaging is also used, where damping characteristics or excitations are not amenable to analytical techniques. Fast excitation has the non-trivial effect of increasing and decreasing the low-velocity damping of hard and soft dampers, respectively. The effect of fast excitation on the transient and steady state slow dynamics of the system is investigated by direct numerical integration of the equation of motion.     

Squeak noise in lead screw systems: Self-excited vibration of continuous model

The dynamic instability of a spinning lead screw in contact with a screw nut is investigated analytically. The lead screw is modeled as a circular beam vibrating in transverse and torsion direction. The contact kinematics between the lead screw and the nut is described on the contact threads in the lead screw. The onset of squeak noise is numerically predicted with a variety of system parameters. Stability analysis shows that the transverse vibration modes can generate squeak noise in the lead screw system. It is highlighted that squeak noise can be controlled by system design parameters in such a manner that the squeak propensity is dependent on rotation speed, screw radius, axial load, contact location, and so on.