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The employment of computer simulation applications in the design and manufacturing processes of the automotive industry has proven to be an excellent way for reducing costs and for cutting the development period. However, the investment necessary in terms of the hardware, software and the manpower to carry out the simulation work is very high and is still increasing rapidly. Therefore, the question of cost-benefit becomes very important in assessing the usefulness to the company. One of the key aspects for optimized efficiency is an organisational structure which ensures that the design process can take advantage of simulation work.

The investigation of the static behaviour of structures, especially car bodies, by analytical methods is a very important and widely used tool in the automotive industry. It is much more difficult to predict noise phenomena. The key point is that many physical quantities determine the sound in the car (1)*. The relevant physical effects must be identified in order to get a reliable mathematical model. The paper describes how this can be done by a combination of experimental and analytical works. The frequency range of interest is up to 200 Hz

The method of structural modification allows a considerable reduction in effort for a finite element analysis of a structure which is altered in a specific region. By use of this method in the design process, it is possible to calculate many design variations in order to get an optimized structure. Because of the reduced effort, the analysis can be carried out at the same workstation where the generation of the mesh and the displaying of the results is done.