Simulation process for the thermo-mechanic analysis of PCBAs

Changes in temperature can have a significant impact on the functionality and reliability of electronic components. Temperature changes, e.g., as defined in IEC 60068-2-14, are initiated by different factors and events, e.g., transport or operation conditions of electronic components can cause large temperature changes. The degree of temperature change and the number of temperature cycles directly affect the reliability of the component by introducing stress on vias and solder joints of a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) caused by a mismatch in thermal expansion coefficients of various materials within the PCBA.

Our thermo-mechanic analysis process can simulate the non-linear static deformation of a PCBA based on a prior thermal analysis of the PCBA, e.g., power dissipation of SMDs, or based on thermal boundary conditions, e.g., thermal shock or thermal cycling, e.g., based on IEC 60068-2-14. In our simulation models the PCB can be modelled either in detail (including copper traces, vias, and plated through holes), by a coarse finite element mesh and a material field on finite element nodes, or by a combination of both methods, i.e., using a material field on a coarse mesh and embedded detailed finite element meshes for selected regions of the PCB. Solder-joints are modelled in detail including an SMD lead and the corresponding solder-joint meniscus or as sub-structures. For detailed modelled solder-joints the accumulated in-elastic strain can be calculated and used to evaluate its reliability.

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