Shear Strength Degradation Modeling of Lead-Free Solder Joints at Different Isothermal Aging Conditions

SAC-based alloys are one of the most common solder materials that are utilized to provide mechanical support and electrical connection between electronic components and the printed circuit board. Enhancing the mechanical properties of solder joints can improve the life of the components. One of the mechanical properties that define the solder joint structure integrity is the shear strength. The main objective of this study is to assess the shear strength behavior of SAC305 solder joints under different aging conditions. Instron 5948 Micromechanical Tester with a customized fixture is used to perform accelerated shear tests on individual solder joints. The shear strength of SAC305 solder joints with organic solderability preservative (OSP) surface finish is investigated at constant strain rate under different aging times (2, 10, 100, and 1,000 h) and different aging temperatures (50, 100, and 150°C). The nonaged solder joints are examined as well for comparison purposes. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is accomplished to identify the contribution of each parameter on the shear strength. A general empirical model is developed to estimate the shear strength as a function of aging conditions using the Arrhenius term. Microstructure analysis is performed at different aging conditions using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results revealed a significant reduction in the shear strength when the aging level is increased. An increase in the precipitates coarsening and intermetallic compound (IMC) layer thickness are observed with increased aging time and temperature.

Shaft Resistance of Long (Flexible) Piles Considering Strength Degradation

Soil-structure frictional resistance is an important parameter in the design of many foundation systems. The soil-structure interface area is responsible for load transferring from the structure to the surrounding soil. The mobilized shaft resistance of axially loaded, long slender pile embedded in dense, dry sand is experimentally and numerically analyzed when subjected to pullout force. Experimental setup including an instrumented model pile while the finite element method is used as a numerical analysis tool. The hypoplasticity model is used to model the soil adjacent to and surrounding the pile by using ABAQUS FEA (6.17.1). The soil-structure interface behavior depends on many factors, but mainly on the interface soil's tendency to contract or dilate under shearing conditions. To investigate this tendency, three piles with different surface roughness and under different confining pressures are used. A dilation behavior is observed in the relation of the average shaft resistance with the axial displacement for piles with rough and medium roughness surfaces, while contraction behavior is noticed when shearing piles with smooth surfaces. A large shear strength degradation of about (10%) reduction in the shaft resistance is observed under low confining pressure compared to a lesser reduction value of about (2%) under high confining pressure. Good agreement is obtained between the experimental and the numerical results.

Runout simulation of seismic landslides using discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) with state-dependent shear strength model

The reliable numerical simulation of the landslide process contributes to the establishment of evidence-based disaster mitigation measures in seismically active zones. To achieve this goal, a simple and unified state-dependent shear strength model of discontinuities is presented to describe the shear strength degradation in a seismic landslide process. The proposed model establishes a relationship between the shear strength parameters and the global safety factor of the slope by assuming that the slope instability (or landslide initiation) is accompanied by an instantaneous shear strength degradation of discontinuities. To realize the model numerically, the algorithms for the computation of global safety factor and the modification of shear strength parameters were incorporated into the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA). Subsequently, the kinematic accuracy of the improved DDA method was validated by comparisons with theoretical solutions for the dynamic sliding of a block on an inclined plane. Numerical simulations of the Daguangbao landslide triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake were performed using the improved DDA method. The results illustrate that the shear strength degradation of discontinuities affect the evolution process, travel distance, and post-failure shape of the seismic landslide significantly.