Vibro-acoustic control with a distributed sensor network.

The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the ability of a distributed control system, based on a smart sensor network, to reduce acoustic radiation from a vibrating structure. The platform from which control is effected consists of a network of smart sensors, each referred to as a node. Each node possesses its own computational capability, sensor, actuator and the ability to communicate with other nodes via a wired or wireless network. The primary focus of this work is to employ existing group management middleware concepts to enable vibro-acoustic control with such a distributed network. Group management middleware is distributed software that provides for the establishment and maintenance of groups of distributed nodes and that provides for the network communication among such groups. The control objective is met by designing distributed feedback compensators that take advantage of node groups in order to effect their control. The node groups are formed based on physical proximity. The global control objective is to minimize the radiated sound power from a rectangular plate. Results of this investigation demonstrate that such a distributed control system can achieve attenuations comparable to those achieved by a centralized controller.