Experimental investigation of different active noise control concepts applied to a passenger car equipped with an active windshield

The main purpose of this work is the implementation and experimental investigation of different active structural acoustic control (ASAC) concepts for the reduction of interior noise in an automobile passenger compartment. For the control experiments, a medium-class test car was used, which had been equipped with an active windshield. The active windshield consists of the serial-production laminated glass pane augmented with piezoceramic patch-transducers applied to the blackened rim of the windshield. A multi-reference test provided measurement data for the identification of a local discrete-time state-space model (SSM). The subsequent acquisition of frequency response functions (FRF) by way of using the same actuators but measuring on a much finer grid provided the database for the formulation of a least-squares problem to derive a global system model. Based on the local and global discrete-time SSMs, different controllers were designed and experimentally realized. The comparison of the vibration levels in open- and closed-loop showed a global reduction of 5–7 dB in the acoustically relevant frequency band containing the second and third structural resonance of the windshield system. The occurrence of complex operational deflection shapes (ODS) was identified as the main limitation concerning the disturbance rejection of the active system. The acoustic performance of the ASAC system is reflected in a reduction up to 15 dB in sound pressure level (SPL).