Combining finite elements, boundary elements (BEM), and statistical energy analysis (SEA) in a single model, ESI Group’s VA One 2012 is a complete solution for simulating noise and vibration across the full frequency range. This new release includes an easy-to-use design optimization module that is fully integrated within the VA One environment, along with enhancements to VA One’s boundary element solvers that, claims the company, deliver faster solution times. According to the company, VA One automotive and aerospace BEM models, which previously required overnight execution on standard clusters, have been solved in minutes employing cloud computing (using more than 800 parallel cores, while incurring negligible hardware costs). Pictured is the use of an inbuilt genetic algorithm in VA One 2012 to automatically modify the shape of a muffler to maximize low-frequency acoustic transmission loss.