Computers & Structures Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. v-vi, 1990 Pergamon Press plc. Printed in Great Britain.

PREFACE

Significant and far-reaching advances have been made in the last few years in aeronautics and space technologies. The new advances are manifested by the development of a variety of flight vehicles and space systems. Three major factors have contributed to the rapid pace of development of aeronautical and space technologies in recent years. The first factor is the significant advances in computational technology and the explosive growth in computer hardware capability. This progress shows no sign of abating; all indications are that the changes during the coming years will prove to be even greater, particularly with the introduction of novel forms of computer architecture (e.g. artificial neural networks, optical computers, and intelligent computer systems). The second major factor is the use of computational technology to transform much of the theoretical mechanics and abstract science into practical and essential tools for the development and realization of flight vehicles. The practical tools now belong to the new disciplines of computational structures technology (CST), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and computational controls technology (CCT). The third major factor is the growing interaction among a number of traditionally distinct disciplines including structures, aerodynamics, control technology, numerical analysis, and software design.

Despite the significant advances made in each of the CST, CFD and CCT disciplines, there has not been enough interaction and cross fertilization between these disciplines. Consequently, some of the techniques used in one discipline were either rediscovered by, or remained unknown to, researchers working in the other disciplines. As a step to remedy this situation, and to establish strong interaction among researchers working in the different areas of computational technology for flight vehicles, a three-day symposium entitled “Computational Technology for Flight Vehicles” was planned for 5-7 November 1990 in Washington, D.C. The organizing committee expected that by bringing together leading experts and active researchers in areas which could impact future development of the different areas of computational technology for flight vehicles, formal presentations and personal interaction would increase communication and foster effective development of the computational technology for flight vehicles.

Fifty-two papers are included in the two-volume proceedings of the symposium. Thirty-nine papers are contained in Vol. I, which is a special issue of Computing Systems in Engineering, covering the following eight section headings:

High-performance computing and parallel computations Multidisciplinary computations Advances in grid generation Visualization in CFD and other space activities Probabilistic modeling and boundary layers Numerical simulations and methodologies for different flow regimes Computational strategies and adaptive methods in CFD Computational strategies in dynamics and control.

Thirteen papers are contained in Vol. II, which is a special issue of Computers & Structures, covering the following three section headings:

Modeling of local phenomena and edge effects in solids Stochastic modeling and simulation of fracture toughness Modeling, partitioning strategy, and new finite elements.

The fields covered by this symposium are rapidly changing, and if new results are to have the maximum impact and use, they must reach workers in the field as soon as possible. This consideration led to the decision to publish the proceedings prior to the symposium. Special thanks go to Pergamon Press for their cooperation in publishing these volumes and to Dean Harold Liebowitz, School of Engineering and Applied Science of The George Washington University, for making arrangements for the publication.

The Editors express their sincere thanks to the many individuals and organizations who contributed to the planning of this symposium; in particular, to the members of the technical program committee for their contributions to the various phases of this symposium. Special thanks go to the authors of the papers, for the effort they have put forth in the preparation of their manuscripts, and to the symposium secretary, Mrs Mary Torian, for her constant help and support.

The assistance of the U.S. Association of Computational Mechanics (USACM), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, is especially appreciated. It is our earnest hope that the publication of these

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proceedings will help broaden awareness within the engineering community of the recent advances in computational structural mechanics and fluid dynamics, and will serve the profession well.

University of Virginia NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA 23665 U.S.A.

AHMEDK.NOOR

NASA Headquarters Washington D.C. 20546 U.S.A.

SAMUELL..VENNERI