In order to bring the research results on intelligent materials to the level of industrial use in commercial applications, their use should be integrated in the industrial product creation process. This requires that the product functional performance simulation models, which are the cornerstone of today’s design process, must be capable of supporting the specific aspects related to advanced materials, active systems, actuators, sensors and control and integrate these into system level virtual prototype models. Significant advances were made recently, combining the use of commonly available 3D simulation methods such as Finite Element and Boundary Element (FE/BE) and MultiBody Simulation (MBS), with 1-D simulation tools as used for control system or functional system simulation. Based on such integrated system modelling approach, multi-attribute modelbased system optimization becomes possible, allowing trade-offs not only between design parameters, but also between design concepts. Active Noise and Vibration Control is clearly a target application for such approach.
