Micro-cracking in polycrystalline Silicon is a serious concern for the durability of photovoltaic (PV) modules due to the resulting electrical power-loss. In this contribution, a thermo-mechanical cohesive zone model is proposed to predict the evolution of micro-cracks under the action of mechanical and thermal loads. The classical nonlinear cohesive zone approach, used in fracture mechanics to...

This paper describes the Virtual Prototype of a Dielectric Window (DW) for High Power Microwave Vacuum Tubes and Linear Accelerators (LINAC). Design formulas are provided and Computer Aided Design techniques based on COMSOL Multiphysics are proposed. The virtual prototype considers the Thermo-mechanical effects due to the joule effect induced by the power which crosses the DW and the Thermal co...

A variational formulation of the coupled thermo-mechanical boundary-value problem for general dissipative solids is presented. The coupled thermo-mechanical boundary-value problem under consideration consists of the equilibrium problem for a deformable, inelastic and dissipative solid with the heat conduction problem appended in addition. The variational formulation allows for general dissipati...

To improve the durability of lead free solder joints under high strain rates, such as drop and shock loading, some area array manufacturers have converted to low silver (Ag) content tin silver copper (SAC) solder spheres instead of the commonly accepted SAC305 solder. While the lower silver content SAC solder joints may address high strain rate shock loads, the durability of these joints under ...