Thermodynamic and Kinetic Simulation of Transient Liquid-Phase Bonding

Abstract

ABSTRACT THERMODYNAMIC AND KINETIC SIMULATION OF TRANSIENT LIQUID-PHASE BONDING by Brad Lindner The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2015 Under the Supervision of Professor Benjamin C. Church The use of numeric computational methods for the simulation of materials systems is becoming more prevalent and an understanding of these tools may soon be a necessity for Materials Engineers and Scientists. The applicability of numerical simulation methods to transient liquid-phase (TLP) bonding is evaluated using a type 316L/MBF-51 material system. The comparisons involve the calculation of bulk diffusivities, tracking of interface positions during dissolution, widening, and isothermal solidification stages, as well as comparison of elemental composition profiles. The simulations were performed with Thermo-Calc and DICTRA software packages and the experiments with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and optical microscopic methods. Analytical methods are also discussed to enhance understanding. The results of the investigation show that while general agreement between simulations and experiments can be obtained, assumptions made with the simulation programs may cause difficulty in interpretation of the results unless the user has sufficient, mathematical, thermodynamic, kinetic, and simulation background.