A preliminary study on the performance of indoor active noise barriers based on 2D simulations

•The feasibility of the indoor active noise barrier is verified.•The active control system could obtain 10 dB extra insertion loss below 500 Hz.•The effect of the ceiling reflection is significant in high frequency range.•The effects of the sensing strategy on the control performance are discussed.

Single screen barriers are widely used in open-plan offices as a means of improving acoustical privacy. However, the insertion loss of an indoor barrier is limited in low frequency range. Active control systems have been shown to be able to enhance the insertion loss of outdoors noise barrier in low frequency range, so its feasibility for improving the performance of indoor barriers is investigated in this paper. The simulation results show that about 10 dB extra insertion loss below 500 Hz can be obtained with the active control system when the squared sound pressure inside the entire observation area is minimized. The performance of the active noise barrier deteriorated significantly due to the reflecting ceiling, and the performance is hardly improved by increasing the ceiling height or the ceiling absorption coefficient. Finally, the effects of the sensing strategy on the control performance and the impacts of the active control system on the source side are discussed.