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Engineers use the breadth and depth of leading simulation software to predict how products will behave in multi-domain operating environments. Product behavior nearly always involves different types of physical phenomena, to one degree or another. Temperature differences can influence mechanical stress, for example, and air flow around a structure may impact acoustics or change structural loading. In some cases, one domain might be so pronounced that engineers can safely ignore or approximate the minimal influence of others. In a growing number of applications, however, simulation accuracy for meeting the tight performance requirements of today's sophisticated products demands that product developers consider the effects of multiple domains. Meeting such challenges poses big problems if your simulation tools lack sufficient capabilities to handle multi-domain applications. In many cases, codes may have only rudimentary functionality in critical areas, clunky interfaces that make the software difficult to run, or incompatibilities that prevent the smooth exchange of data needed between separate packages. As a result, simulation predictions may be grossly inaccurate; then deadlines slip, products fail to perform as they should, and numerous hardware prototype cycles are needed to hurriedly fix last-minute glitches that should not have occurred in the first place. In contrast, an integrated suite of software with technical depth in multiple simulation domains and rich functionality across a broad range of disciplines provides a solid foundation for handling these types of solutions. The current issue of this magazine has excellent examples of companies putting such technology to work in real-world applications. As outlined in the article " Driving Vehicle Performance, " General Motors engineers developed the Chevy Volt electric car using fluid dynamics software from ANSYS for a wide range of studies, including body aerodynamics, airflow through the grille, cooling drag and sizing the heat exchanger. The engineering team there also leveraged the software to optimize components on other vehicles. The article " World-Class Composites Analysis by Alinghi " describes how racing yacht designers took advantage of compatibility between solvers by performing structural analysis on the composite laminate hull and all other vessel components using ANSYS structural software, which was coupled with flow analysis for hydro-dynamic studies using ANSYS fluid dynamics software. An engineer at ITT Acoustical Sensors authored the article " Fishing with Multiphysics " to report on work using software from ANSYS in direct coupled-field simulation involving piezoelectric, acoustic and mechanical analysis to optimize the designs of underwater transducers for …