Over the past century, the automobile has become an integral part of society, with vastincreases in safety, refinement, and complexity, but most unfortunately in mass. Thetrend of increasing mass cannot be maintained in the face of increasingly stringentregulations on fuel consumption and emissions.The body of work within this thesis exists to help the vehicle industry to take a stepforward in producing vehicles for the future in a sustainable manner in terms of botheconomic and ecological costs. In particular, the fundamentally conflicting requirementsof low weight and high stiffness in a structure which should have good acousticperformance is addressed.An iterative five step design method based on the concepts of multifunctionality andmultidisciplinary engineering is proposed to address the problem, and explained witha case study.In the first step of the process, the necessary functional requirements of the systemare evaluated. Focus is placed on the overall system behavior and diverted from subproblems.For the case study presented, the functional requirements included: structuralstiffness for various loading scenarios, mass efficiency, acoustic absorption, vibrationaldamping, protecting from the elements, durability of the external surfaces,and elements of styling.In the second step of the process, the performance requirements of the system wereestablished. This involved a thorough literature survey to establish the state of theart, a rigorous testing program, and an assessment of numerical models and tools toevaluate the performance metrics.In the third step of the process, a concept to fulfil requirements is proposed. Here, amulti-layered, multi-functional panel using composite materials, and polymer foamswith varying structural and acoustic properties was proposed.In the fourth step of the process, a method of refinement of the concept is proposed.Numerical tools and parameterized models were used to optimize the three dimensionaltopology of the panel,material properties, and dimensions of the layers in a stepwisemanner to simultaneously address the structural and acoustic performance.In the fifth and final step of the process, the final result and effectiveness of the methodused to achieve it is examined. Both the tools used and the final result in itself shouldbe examined. In the case study the process is repeated several times with increasingdegrees of complexity and success in achieving the overall design objectives.In addition to the design method, the concept of a multifunctional body panel is definedand developed and a considerable body of knowledge and understanding is presented.Variations in core topology, materials used, stacking sequence of layers, effects ofperforations, and air gaps within the structure are examined and their effects on performanceare explored and discussed. The concept shows promise in reducing vehicleweight while maintaining the structural and acoustic performance necessary in the contextof sustainable vehicle development.

The present work explores the possibilities of adapting poro-elastic lightweight acoustic materials to specific applications. More explicitly, a design approach is presented where finite element based numerical simulations are combined with optimization techniques to improve the dynamic and acoustic properties of lightweight multilayered panels containing poro-elastic acoustic materials.

The numerical models are based on Biot theory which uses equivalent fluid/solid models with macroscopic space averaged material properties to describe the physical behaviour of poro-elastic materials. To systematically identify and compare specific beneficial or unfavourable material properties, the numerical model is connected to a gradient based optimizer. As the macroscopic material parameters used in Biot theory are interrelated, they are not suitable to be used as independent design variables. Instead scaling laws are applied to connect macroscopic material properties to the underlying microscopic geometrical properties that may be altered independently.

The design approach is also combined with a structural sandwich panel mass optimization, to examine possible ways to handle the, sometimes contradicting, structural and acoustic demands. By carefully balancing structural and acoustic components, synergetic rather than contradictive effects could be achieved, resulting in multifunctional panels; hopefully making additional acoustic treatment, which may otherwise undo major parts of the weight reduction, redundant.

The results indicate a significant potential to improve the dynamic and acoustic properties of multilayered panels with a minimum of added weight and volume. The developed modelling techniques could also be implemented in future computer based design tools for lightweight vehicle panels. This would possibly enable efficient mass reduction while limiting or, perhaps, totally avoiding the negative impact on sound and vibration properties that is, otherwise, a common side effect of reducing weight, thus helping to achieve lighter and more energy efficient vehicles in the future.