Use of genetic algorithms to optimise actuator placement for active control of interior noise in a cylinder with floor structure

Abstract

The genetic algorithm has received much attention as an effective method for determining optimal actuator and sensor locations in a number of varied placement optimization problems. In this paper, a genetic algorithm search technique is developed specifically for application to the potentially large problem of optimizing the locations of vibration control actuators to actively control harmonic interior sound levels in a cylinder with floor structure (representative of an aircraft fuselage). For the purposes of demonstration, a harmonic primary excitation was simulated by a number of point forces acting on the cylinder boundary. The development of an appropriate genetic algorithm giving optimal search performance for a generalized multi-modal search optimization problem was undertaken. The performance characteristics of various genetic algorithm operators were tested, and the optimal configuration was then applied to the cylinder with integral floor model with good results. © 1996 Institute of Noise Control Engineering.