Noise Source Identification Applied in Electric Power Industry Using Microphone Arrays

The noise source identification is an important issue in noise reduction and condition monitoring(CM) for machines in- site using microphone arrays. In this paper, we propose a new approach to optimize array configuration based on particles swarm optimization algorithm in order to improve noise source identification and condition monitoring performance. Two distinct optimized array configurations are designed under the certain conditions. Furthermore, an acoustic imaging equipment is developed to carry out experiments on transformer substation equipment and wind turbine generator, which demonstrate that the acoustic imaging system allows a high resolution in identifying main noise sources for noise reduction and abnormal noise sources for condition monitoring.