Active Noise Control Method Considering Auditory Characteristics

In contrast to functionality and reliability, which are more and more assumed to be a natural and necessary condition of any vehicle, the performance of Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) now belongs to those features which play an essential role for the customer's purchasing decision. Sound design and vehicle interior noise control are essential parts of NVH. One tool of the NVH solution toolbox is Active Noise Control (ANC). ANC technology aims to cancel unwanted noise by generating an “anti-noise” with equal amplitude and opposite phase. Owing to the fact that human hearing has selective sensitivity for different critical bands, a new control strategy of ANC, which selectively controls the noise of specific bandwidths according to the result of specific loudness and retains the part of noise created by the normal running of facilities, trying to attenuate the unwanted and unacceptable noise, has been proposed in this paper. The new ANC system based on Filtered X Least Mean Square (FXLMS) algorithm takes the human auditory characteristics into account by incorporating a specific loudness filter set in the two input paths of controller respectively, and is employed in a detail case by numerical simulation. Simulation results illustrate it possible to achieve these aims that the noise of specific bandwidths is attenuated and sound qualities are improved to some extent.