Simultaneous optimal structure and control design of flexible linkage mechanism for noise attenuation

Integrated structural and control design of linkage mechanism for noise attenuation is studied. Firstly, a new set of equations of motion is obtained by employing a set of wavenumber transformations to the original equations of motion of the flexible linkage mechanisms, in which the unknown variables can describe the structural acoustic radiation level of the mechanism directly. The new equation can be used to evaluate the structural acoustic radiation performance. Secondly, the performance index for simultaneous mechanism and noise control design is discussed. The weighted sum of structural mass and the energy of the controlled mechanism is selected as the performance index. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out on a four-bar linkage mechanism. Simulation results show that the acoustic radiation and the control inputs of the optimized mechanism are improved significantly.