The present thesis establishes a complete framework for the combination of finite element and classical ray based acoustic simulations in small rooms and discusses the inherent challenges and limitations including all aspects of sound generation, sound reflection and sound reception. In this context, the thesis gives detailed guidelines for the best-possible determination of all necessary input data for both simulation domains. The overall potential of the presented combined approach is assessed by conducting extensive objective and subjective comparisons of measurement and simulation results for three types of acoustically relevant small spaces (a scale-model reverberation room, a recording studio and two different car passenger compartments).

Bringing together the world's leading researchers and practitioners of computational mechanics, these new volumes meet and build on the eight key challenges for research and development in computational mechanics. Researchers have recently identified eight critical research tasks facing the field of computational mechanics. These tasks have come about because it appears possible to reach a new level of mathematical modelling and numerical solution that will lead to a much deeper understanding of nature and to great improvements in engineering design.The eight tasks are: The automatic solution of mathematical models Effective numerical schemes for fluid flows The development of an effective mesh-free numerical solution method The development of numerical procedures for multiphysics problems The development of numerical procedures for multiscale problems The modelling of uncertainties The analysis of complete life cycles of systems Education - teaching sound engineering and scientific judgement Readers of Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics 2003 will be able to apply the combined experience of many of the world's leading researchers to their own research needs. Those in academic environments will gain a better insight into the needs and constraints of the industries they are involved with; those in industry will gain a competitive advantage by gaining insight into the cutting edge research being carried out by colleagues in academia. Features Bridges the gap between academic researchers and practitioners in industry Outlines the eight main challenges facing Research and Design in Computational mechanics and offers new insights into the shifting the research agenda Provides a vision of how strong, basic and exciting education at university can be harmonized with life-long learning to obtain maximum value from the new powerful tools of analysis

III European Conference on Computational Mechanics: Solids, Structures and Coupled Problem in Engineering Computational Mechanics in Solid, Structures and Coupled Problems in Engineering is today a mature science with applications to major industrial projects. This book contains the edited version of the Abstracts of Plenary and Keynote Lectures and Papers, and a companion CD-ROM with the full-length papers, presented at the III European Conference on Computational Mechanics: Solids, Structures and Coupled Problems in Engineering (ECCM-2006), held in the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal 5th - 8th June 2006. The book reflects the state-of-art of Computation Mechanics in Solids, Structures and Coupled Problems in Engineering and it includes contributions by the world most active researchers in this field.

Modelling and simulation in acoustics is currently gaining importance. In fact, with the development and improvement of innovative computational techniques and with the growing need for predictive models, an impressive boost has been observed in several research and application areas, such as noise control, indoor acoustics, and industrial applications. This led us to the proposal of a special issue about “Modelling, Simulation and Data Analysis in Acoustical Problems”, as we believe in the importance of these topics in modern acoustics’ studies. In total, 81 papers were submitted and 33 of them were published, with an acceptance rate of 37.5%. According to the number of papers submitted, it can be affirmed that this is a trending topic in the scientific and academic community and this special issue will try to provide a future reference for the research that will be developed in coming years.

The MIT mission - "to bring together Industry and Academia and to nurture the next generation in computational mechanics is of great importance to reach the new level of mathematical modeling and numerical solution and to provide an exciting research environment for the next generation in computational mechanics." Mathematical modeling and numerical solution is today firmly established in science and engineering. Research conducted in almost all branches of scientific investigations and the design of systems in practically all disciplines of engineering can not be pursued effectively without, frequently, intensive analysis based on numerical computations.The world we live in has been classified by the human mind, for descriptive and analysis purposes, to consist of fluids and solids, continua and molecules; and the analyses of fluids and solids at the continuum and molecular scales have traditionally been pursued separately. Fundamentally, however, there are only molecules and particles for any material that interact on the microscopic and macroscopic scales. Therefore, to unify the analysis of physical systems and to reach a deeper understanding of the behavior of nature in scientific investigations, and of the behavior of designs in engineering endeavors, a new level of analysis is necessary. This new level of mathematical modeling and numerical solution does not merely involve the analysis of a single medium but must encompass the solution of multi-physics problems involving fluids, solids, and their interactions, involving multi-scale phenomena from the molecular to the macroscopic scales, and must include uncertainties in the given data and the solution results. Nature does not distinguish between fluids and solids and does not ever repeat itself exactly.This new level of analysis must also include, in engineering, the effective optimization of systems, and the modeling and analysis of complete life spans of engineering products, from design to fabrication, to possibly multiple repairs, to end of service.