Abstract
The basic principle of Component Mode Synthesis (CMS) and Modal Synthesis substructuring methods is to reduce each component into a smaller set of generalized coordinates and to assemble the obtained superelements. As the number of coordinates of the assembly is relatively low, fast evaluation of the dynamic characteristics is possible and consequently, optimization becomes feasible. The latter however requires that one can efficiently implement structural modifications without going again through the component reduction process. This paper explains and demonstrates a modal coupling and modification approach for the optimization of the acoustic comfort of a car body.