ICSV21, Beijing, China, 13-17 July 2014 1 The 21 st International Congress on Sound and Vibration 13-17 July, 2014, Beijing/China ACOUSTICAL ANALYSIS OF ACTIVE NOISE CONTROL (ANC) SYSTEM IN A GENERAL ROOM-BASED DATA CENTER Seyedeh Zahra Jalilzadeh, Mohammad Asgari IRIB University, Tehran, Iran e-mail: jalilzadeh@iribu.ac.ir A walk-through survey in Data Centers indicates that it is not a safe place to work. So the customers are always seeking a new technology to reduce the acoustic noise in Data Centers. On the other hand, Active Noise Control is more advantageous in numerous applications. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of ANC systems in data centers environment. For this purpose, a multi-channel ANC system based on FxLMS algorithm was investigated in the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Data Center as a room-based one. Acoustical experimental data was taken to measure the acoustic noise characteristics of frequency and Sound Pressure Level (SPL). Accordingly, the working frequency was found, the secondary paths transfer functions are determined practically. Finally, the system performance shows that the maximum Attenuation up to 12 dB was achieved by using a feed-forward multi- channel Active Noise Control system. Moreover, the results of this investigation demonstrate that Active Noise Control Systems are capable of providing acoustic noise attenuation of Data centers to improve their habitability. 1. Introduction Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) data center, as a typical room-based 1 data center, has a little acoustical absorption like foam or fibreglass. Main noise sources are various fans placed in servers and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) equipment 2 . Active Noise Control (ANC) is an electro acoustic technology to reduce the unwanted sound by using control sources to emit inverse sound to attenuate the primary noise 3 . This technology is useful especially in low frequency attenuation scenario 4 , as Passive Noise Control (PNC) is not so effective to reduce the low frequencies. In this paper, a feed-forward multi-channel ANC system based on FxLMS 5 algorithm; including 5 reference microphones, 4 control sources and 1 error microphone; was used to determine the feasibility of using active control method in data center room. Two methods were used; measured acoustical data and computational modelling. For this purpose, a multi-channel FxLMS algorithm ANC system was described in section 2. Data gathering details were explained in section 3 and the results were presented in section 4. Finally, the conclusion was outlined in section 5.