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According to a proposal made in 1974 by the Gesell schaft fUr Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik (GAMM) the General Assembly of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM) decided in 1975 to sponsor an international symposium on "Dynamics of Multibody Systems". A Scientific Committee has been appointed consisting of J.D.C. Crisp, Australia, T.R. Kane, USA, D.M. Klimov, USSR, A.D. De Pater, Netherlands, K. Magnus, Germany (chairman). This committee selected the participants to be invited and the papers to be presented at the symposium. As a result of this process 82 active scientific partici pants from 15 countries followed the invitation and 29 papers were presented. They are collected in this volume. At the symposium an additional presentation was delivered: Mrs. E. Gottzein introduced and ex plained a recently completed scientific movie on mag netic levitated vehicles. The aim of the symposium was the exchange of ideas and the discussion of methods and results in the field of Multibody Dynamics. This has been achieved by a really efficient scientific and social progr~m, organ ized for the six symposium days by a Local Organizing Committee. Members of this Committee were: S. Ballout, M. Lippmann, P.C. MUller, W.O. Schiehlen, G. Schweitzer, E. Truckenbrodt, K. Magnus (chair man) and members of the staff of the Institute of Mechanics.

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Simulation of Multibody Systems Using the Vector-Network Model.- On the Influence of Damping on the Stability of Certain Gyroscopic Systems.- A Flexible Passive Space Array with Springs (II).- Multibody System Applications and Simulations at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.- Some Recent Advances in Numerical Methods in Structural Dynamics.- Nonlinear Behaviour of Multibody Systems under Impulsive Parametric Excitation.- The Self-Synchronization of Mechanical Vibrators of the Resonance Type Vibrating Machinery with Multidegree of Freedom.- On Mechanics of Gyroscopes in Gimbal Suspension.- Nonholonomic Multibody Systems Containing Gyrostats.- Simulation of the Longitudinal Dynamics of a Train.- The Dynamics of a Class of Electrically-Actuated and Cable-Driven Manipulators.- New Methods in the Dynamics of Systems of Rigid Bodies.- Dynamics of Nonideal Gyroscopic Systems.- Multibody Systems Containing Active Elements: Generation of Linearized System Equations, System Analysis and Order-Reduction.- Identification of Lumped Element Models from Response Measurements of Vibrating Structures.- The Mathematical Description of Mechanical Systems from the View of Control Engineering with Hybrid Coordinates as State Space Variables.- Response by Normal Coordinates of a Structure Interacting with a Fluid.- Bond Graphs for Flexible Multibody Systems.- Unbalance-Caused Instabilities on Segmented Elastically Coupled Rotor Systems.- Synthesis and Dynamic Characteristics of Large Structures with Rotating Substructures.- Structural Dynamics and Configuration Control of Spinning and Gravity Oriented Multibody Systems.- On the Stability of Interactive Multibody Systems with an Application to Maglev-Vehicle-Guideway Control Systems.- Constraint Stabilization for Rigid Bodies: An Extension of Baumgarte´s Method.- Symbolic Computerized Derivation of Equations of Motion.- Identification of a Rotor System.- On Decentralized Control of Large-Scale Systems.- Model Truncation Using Controllability, Observability Measures.- The Stability of a Class of Multiaxle Railway Vehicles Possessing Perfect Steering.- Nonlinear Equations of Motion for Arbitrary Systems of Interconnected Rigid Bodies.- Comments of the members of the Scientific Committee given at the Closing Session.

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