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SANTA ANA, CA -- MSC.Software Corp. (NYSE:MNS), the leading global provider of simulation software, services, and systems and Mitsui Chemical Inc., a leading Japanese chemical company, today announced that Mitsui Chemical used MSC.Dytran to design and manufacture a new breed of automotive fuel tank. By using MSC.Dytran, Mitsui was able to perform simulations of drop and crash testing within the confines of the MSC.Dytran suite of tools, thus minimizing the time and money spent on design and experimental testing. MSC.Dytran is a non-linear analysis tool that helps engineers predict how physical prototypes respond to high-speed events such as crashes and fluid sloshing. "The ability for manufacturers to simulate the effect contained fluids have on their designs gives them the ability to design safer, more reliable containers and storage tanks for less cost and in less time," said Frank Perna, chairman and chief executive officer of MSC.Software. "The work we have done with Mitsui is one example of the ways in which MSC.Software is helping engineers around the world perform complex analysis and save time and money during the design, testing and manufacturing process." In order to accurately construct and analyze the fuel tank design, the tank must be `drop/crash tested' to determine if the external structure is sound. If the tank structure is too thin, it will break too easily. If the tank structure is too thick, materials costs are higher than necessary. By using MSC.Dytran to conduct drop test analysis, the tank was tested in a computer environment and the optimum thickness of the tank was achieved, saving the time and cost of testing physical prototypes and using only necessary materials. According to the ITB Group of Novi, MI, the global market for automotive fuel tanks and fuel system-related components was $10.9 billion in 2000. For more information visit www.mscsoftware.com