A narrowband active noise control system with reference synthesis

Summary Most active noise control (ANC) algorithms require a model of the secondary path (SP). If there are large changes in the SP, online SP modeling algorithms may not be able to follow the changes quickly enough to prevent divergence. In this work, the mirror‐MFxLMS (MMFxLMS) is adapted to narrowband ANC, and the resulting algorithm is analyzed. The MMFxLMS is an algorithm similar to the MFxLMS and FxLMS but has online SP modeling; it is stable for any SP estimate and does not require auxiliary noise. In addition, a technique to alternate between MFxLMS and MMFxLMS is proposed, resulting in the M 3 FxLMS algorithm, which does not sacrifice performance and assures stability. However, the M 3 FxLMS requires a reference signal that is not available in feedback ANC. Feedback ANC is important in many practical cases, for instance, in ANC headphones. To solve this problem, a technique is proposed to synthesize a reference formed by a sum of sinusoids using measurements from the error sensor signal. This technique uses the fast Fourier transform to obtain estimates of the harmonic frequencies of the periodic noise components, and then refines and tracks these using a phase‐locked loop (PLL). The resulting algorithm enables a stable ANC system, even under large and sudden changes in the SP. The proposed PLL is also new and has a lock‐in range equal to the full band of the system.