Crack growth calculations in solder joints based on microstructural phenomena with X-FEM

Determining the lifetime of solder joints subjected to thermomechanical loads is crucial to guarantee the quality of electronic devices. The fatigue process is heavily dependent on the microstructure of the joints. We present a new methodology to determine the lifetime of the joints based on microstructural phenomena. Random microstructures are generated to capture the statistical variety of possible microstructures and crack growth calculations are performed. The extended finite element method is used to solve the structural problem numerically which allows a complete automation of the process. Numerical examples are given and compared to experimental data. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.