Preface -- A Flexible Multibody Pantograph Model for the Analysis of the Catenary-Pantograph Contact, by Jorge Ambrósio, Frederico Rauter, Joao Pombo and Manuel S. Pereira -- Maneuvering Multibody Dynamics - New Developments for Models with Fast Solution Scales and Pilot-in-the-Loop Effects, by Carlo L. Bottasso, Giorgio Maisano and Francesco Scorcelletti -- Optimization of Multibody Systems and their Structural Components, by Olivier BrAls, Etienne Lemaire, Pierre Duysinx and Peter Eberhard -- Real-Time Aeroservoelastic Analysis of Wind-Turbines by Free Multibody Software, by Luca Cavagna, Alessandro Fumagalli, Pierangelo Masarati, Marco Morandini and Paolo Mantegazza -- Comparison of Planar Structural Elements for Multibody Systems with Large Deformations, by Markus Dibold and Johannes Gerstmayr -- Modeling and Analysis of Rigid Multibody Systems with Translational Clearance Joints Based on the Nonsmooth Dynamics Approach, by Paulo Flores, Remco Leine and Christoph Glocker -- Application of General Multibody Methods to Robotics, by Janusz Fraczek and Marek Wojtyra -- Energy Considerations for the Stabilization of Constrained Mechanical Systems with Velocity Projection, by Juan C. García Orden and Roberto A. Ortega Aguilera -- A General Purpose Algorithm for Optimal Trajectory Planning of Closed Loop Multibody Systems, by Makoto Iwamura, Peter Eberhard, Werner Schiehlen and Robert Seifried -- Real-Time Simulation of Extended Vehicle Drivetrain Dynamics, by Ralf U. Pfau and Thomas Schaden -- Assessment of Antagonistic Muscle Forces During Forearm Flexion/Extension, by Maxime Raison, Christine Detrembleur, Paul Fisette and Jean-Claude Samin -- Computing Time Reduction Possibilities in Multibody Dynamics, by Thorsten Schindler, Markus Friedrich and Heinz Ulbrich -- Optimization-based Design of Minimum Phase Underactuated Multibody Systems, by Robert Seifried -- GPU-based Parallel Computing for the Simulation of Complex Multibody Systems with Unilateral and Bilateral Constraints: An Overview, by Alessandro Tasora, Dan Negrut and Mihai Anitescu -- Investigation of Gears Using an Elastic Multibody Model with Contact, by Pascal Ziegler and Peter Eberhard.

The ECCOMAS Thematic Conference Multibody Dynamics 2009 was held in Warsaw, representing the fourth edition of a series which began in Lisbon (2003), and was then continued in Madrid (2005) and Milan (2007), held under the auspices of the European Community on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences (ECCOMAS). The conference provided a forum for exchanging ideas and results of several topics related to computational methods and applications in multibody dynamics, through the participation of 219 scientists from 27 countries, mostly from Europe but also from America and Asia. This book contains the revised and extended versions of invited conference papers, reporting on the state-of-the-art in the advances of computational multibody models, from the theoretical developments to practical engineering applications. By providing a helpful overview of the most active areas and the recent efforts of many prominent research groups in the field of multibody dynamics, this book can be highly valuable for both experienced researches who want to keep updated with the latest developments in this field and researches approaching the field for the first time.