Projects
Finite Element Analysis / Thermal-Mechanical Simulation / Solder Fatigue / Reliability Engineering

Solder Interconnect Reliability

2026IEEE ESTC 2026In progress

Thermal-mechanical modelling of a solder interconnect to assess fatigue life and assembly reliability.

Nitoiu Vlad Member Two Member Three
Hero imageInsert the main project render, CAD view or photograph here.
Problem

The Challenge

Solder interconnects fail from accumulated inelastic strain under thermal cycling rather than from a single overload event. The engineering question is how geometry and the material set influence that accumulation. [Editable placeholder — replace with the final project description.]

Constraints

Requirements & Constraints

  • Representative geometry and material definition
  • Thermal cycling profile applied as the driving load case
  • Mesh refinement study at the critical interconnect
  • Fatigue assessment based on an established life model
  • Assumptions and limitations documented alongside results
Methodology

Our Approach

The work follows a model-first methodology: build a defensible geometry, define material behaviour appropriate to the load regime, verify numerical convergence, then evaluate life with a published fatigue correlation. [Editable placeholder.]

Process

Engineering Workflow

  1. 01

    Geometry preparation and simplification

  2. 02

    Material and boundary condition definition

  3. 03

    Thermal-mechanical solution setup

  4. 04

    Mesh sensitivity study

  5. 05

    Inelastic strain extraction

  6. 06

    Fatigue life assessment

  7. 07

    Documentation and presentation

Evidence

Analysis & Simulation

CAD / geometryGeometry placeholder — insert model view.
MeshMesh and refinement zone placeholder.
Thermal-mechanical resultStrain / stress field placeholder.
Fatigue assessmentLife correlation chart placeholder.
Judgement

Key Engineering Decisions

Model the interconnect region in detail rather than the full assembly.

Concentrating mesh density where the damage accumulates keeps the solution tractable without losing the governing physics.

Use a documented fatigue correlation instead of a bespoke damage model.

Published models are reviewable and comparable to literature.

Output

Results

No verified results published yet. Results will be added once the analysis is complete and reviewed — nothing is stated here that has not been measured or computed.

People

Team Contribution

Nitoiu Vlad

Mechanical & Simulation Engineer

  • Mechanical modelling
  • Finite element analysis
  • Thermal-mechanical simulation
  • Solder fatigue assessment
  • Reliability methodology
  • Technical presentation
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Member Two

Structural Engineer

  • [Editable placeholder — add contributions.]
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Member Three

Electronics & Test Engineer

  • [Editable placeholder — add contributions.]
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Toolchain

Technologies Used

ANSYS MechanicalSpaceClaimFusion 360MATLABPython
Outcome

Competition Result

Finalist

Retrospective

Lessons Learned

  • Convergence has to be demonstrated, not assumed.
  • A reliability statement without its assumptions is not an engineering result.