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The primary objective of this two part study was to show theoretically how pigment cluster voids and pigment distribution can influence the critical pigment volume concentration (CPVC) and consequently the properties of a dry coating. In Part I of this study a pigment clustering model with an analytical solution has been developed that was a modification of an earlier model by Fishman, Kurtze, and Bierwagen that could only be solved numerically.

The original derivation of the clustering concept developed by Fishman et al. resulted in a mathematical analysis which was only able to be solved numerically and was found to be very tedious to utilize directly. In this study, a new successful derivation utilizing some of the original concepts of Fishman et al. was generated and shown to result in a practical and much more useable analytical analysis of the clustering concept. This new model was then applied directly to quantify the influence of flow agents or surfactants in a coating formulation on the CPVC as described by Asbeck.

It was found that the largest deviation from 100 per cent pigment dispersion with no pigment clusters occurred just before and just after the ultimate CPVC (UCPVC). A theoretical relationship was also found between the pigment cluster dispersion coefficient, C_q, and CPVC. This result was consistent with the experimental relationship between CPVC and the per cent flow additive as found by Asbeck. The density ratio of overall coating to the pigment density was found to go through a maximum at a global volume fraction of pigment that was slightly greater than the UCPVC as expected for a mechanical property. It was also identified that mechanical failure of most coating formulations should be apparent at either the “Lower Zero Limit” or the “Upper Zero Limit” global volume fraction pigment as defined in this study.

While the experimental measurement of the parameters to isolate the clustering concepts introduced in this study may be difficult, it is expected that better quantitative measurement of clustering concepts will eventually prove to be very beneficial to providing improved suspension applications including coatings.

The theoretical relationship developed in this study between the pigment cluster dispersion coefficient, C_q, and CPVC and the experimental relationship between CPVC and the per cent flow additive found by Asbeck inferred a direct relationship between C_q and the per cent flow additive. Consequently, it was shown that the theoretical pigment cluster model developed in this study could be directly related to the experimental matrix additive composition in a coating formulation. The implication is that the measurement tool introduced in this study can provide better measurement and control of clustering in coatings and other suspension applications.

In this study, a new successful derivation utilizing some of the original concepts of Fishman et al. was generated and shown to result in a practical and much more useable analytical analysis of the clustering concept. This new model was then applied directly to quantify the influence of flow agents or surfactants in a coating formulation on the CPVC as described by Asbeck.

This paper aims to present experimental and numerical analyses of fused filament fabrication (FFF) printed parts and show how mechanical characteristics of printed ABS-MG94 (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) are influenced by the void volume fraction, cooling rate and residual thermal stresses.

Printed specimens were experimentally tested to evaluate the mechanical properties for different printing speeds, and micrographs were taken. A thermo-mechanical finite element model, able to simulate the FFF process, was developed to calculate the temperature fields in time, cooling rate and residual thermal stresses. Finally, the experimental mechanical properties and the microstructure distribution could be explained by the temperature fields in time, cooling rate and residual thermal stresses.

Micrographs revealed the increase of void volume fraction with the printing speed. The variations on voids were associated to the temperature fields in time: when the temperatures remained high for longer periods, less voids were generated. The Young's Modulus of the deposited filament varied according to the cooling rate: it decreased when the cooling rate increased. The influence of the residual thermal stresses and void volume fraction on the printed parts failure was also investigated: in the worst scenarios evaluated, the void volume fraction reduced the strength in 9 per cent, while the residual thermal stresses reduced it in 3.8 per cent.

This work explains how the temperature fields can affect the void volume fraction, Young's Modulus and failure of printed parts. Experimental and numerical results are shown. The presented research can be used to choose printing parameters to achieve desired mechanical properties of FFF printed parts.

The presence of voids in the solder layer has been considered as one of the main issues causing reliability problems in optoelectronic devices. Voids can be created due to trapped gas, clean-up agent residues (fluxes), poor wettability at interface or shortcoming of the reflow process. The voids hinder the heat conduction path and subsequently, the thermal resistance will increase. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of lead-free water-washable Sn96.5Ag3.0Cu0.5 (SAC305) solder paste (SP) voids on the thermal and optical performance of white high-power (HP) surface-mounted device (SMD) light-emitting diode (LED).

Five LEDs are mounted on five SinkPAD substrates by using the SP. The SMT stencil printing is used to control the thickness of the SP and reflow oven for the soldering process. The fraction of voids in the SP layer is calculated using the X-ray machine software. The thermal parameters of the LEDs with different voids fraction and configuration are measured using a thermal transient tester (T3Ster) system. In addition, the optical characterizations of the LEDs are determined by the thermal and radiometric characterization of power LEDs (TeraLED) and the electroluminescence by using the spectrometer.

The results showed that the thermal performance and temperature distribution are improved for the LED with lower voids fraction and good filling state of soldering. In addition, luminous flux, efficacy and color shift of the LEDs with different fraction and configurations of voids on the SP layer are compared and discussed. It is found that the color shift of LED1 of low voids fraction and higher thickness are less than other LEDs.

The paper provides valuable information about the effect of water-washable SAC305 SP voids fraction and filling state of solder on the thermal and optical performance of ThinGaN HP SMD LED. A comprehensive overview of the outcomes is not available in the literature. It was shown experimentally that the voids fraction, height and configuration of the SP layer could strongly influence the heat dissipation efficiency and thermal resistance. This study can help in heat diffusion investigation and failure analysis of HP SMD LEDs.

This paper aims to study the filling progression of underfill flow and void formation during the flip-chip encapsulation process.

A new parameter of filling progression that relates volume fraction filled to filling displacement was formulated analytically. Another indicative parameter of filling efficiency was also introduced to quantify the voiding fraction in filling progression. Additionally, the underfill process on different flip-chips based on the past experiments was numerically simulated.

All findings were well-validated with reference to the past experimental results, in terms of quantitative filling progression and qualitative flow profiles. The volume fraction filled increases monotonically with the filling displacement and thus the filling time. As the underfill fluid advances, the size of the void decreases while the filling efficiency increases. Furthermore, the void formed during the underfilling flow stage was caused by the accelerated contact line jump at the bump entrance.

The filling progression enabled manufacturers to forecast the underfill flow front, as it advances through the flip-chip. Moreover, filling progression and filling efficiency could provide quantitative insights for the determination of void formations at any filling stages. The voiding formation mechanism enables the prompt formulation of countermeasures.

Both the filling progression and filling efficiency are new indicative parameters in quantifying the performance of the filling process while considering the reliability defects such as incomplete filling and voiding.

The mechanisms for void formation are investigated for applications involving solder paste in surface mount technology. Generally, voids are caused by the outgassing of entrapped flux in the sandwiched solder during reflow. The voiding is dictated mainly by the solderability of metallisation, and increases with decreasing solderability of metallisation, decreasing flux activity, increasing metal load of powder, and increasing coverage area under the lead of the joint. Decrease in the solder powder particle size has only a slightly negative effect on voiding. The data indicate that voiding is also a function of the timing between the coalescing of solder powder and the elimination of immobile metallisation oxide. The sooner the paste coalescence occurs, the worse the voiding will be. Increase in voiding is usually accompanied by an increasing fraction of large voids, suggesting that factors causing voiding will have an even greater impact on the joint reliability than shown by the total‐ void‐volume analysis results. Preliminary data suggest that certain predry treatment and flux solvent with higher boiling point appear to cause increased voiding.

Solar energy varies with time, intermittent; an accumulator unit is required to attach with collectors to collect energy for use when the sunshine is not available. This paper aims to design a system for storing the solar sensible heat thermal energy.

This paper presents the design and experimental evaluation of sensible heat thermal energy storage (TES) system for its energy storage performance by varying the air flow rate and packing material shape. Heat transfer fluid as air and solid concrete material of high density of different shapes were used for storage.

This paper presents the evaluation of data of number of experimental observations on the system. It was found that charging/discharging was based on the shape of the material and void fraction.

This paper provides the data for designing the TES, considering the concrete as storage material and shape of material for optimizing the system.

This study aims to investigate the influence of different solder alloy materials on passive devices during laser soldering process. Solder alloy material has been found to significantly influence the solder joint’s quality, such as void formation that can lead to cracks, filling time that affects productivity and fillet shape that determines the solder joint’s reliability.

Finite volume method (FVM)-based simulation that was validated using real laser soldering experiment is used to evaluate the effect of various solder alloy materials, including SAC305, SAC387, SAC396 and SAC405 in laser soldering. These solders are commonly used to assemble the pin-through hole (PTH) capacitor onto the printed circuit board.

The simulation results show how the void ratio, filling time and flow characteristics of different solder alloy materials affect the quality of the solder joint. The optimal solder alloy is SAC396 due to its low void ratio of 1.95%, fastest filling time (1.3 s) to fill a 98% PTH barrel and excellent flow characteristics. The results give the ideal setting for the parameters that can increase the effectiveness of the laser soldering process, which include reducing filling time from 2.2 s to less than 1.5 s while maintaining a high-quality solder joint with a void ratio of less than 2%. Industries that emphasize reliable soldering and effective joint formation gain the advantage of minimal occurrence of void formation, quick filling time and exceptional flowability offered by this solution.

This research is expected not only to improve solder joint reliability but also to drive advancements in laser soldering technology, supporting the development of efficient and reliable microelectronics assembly processes for future electronic devices. The optimized laser soldering material will enable the production of superior passive devices, meeting the growing demands of the electronics market for smaller, high-performance electronic products.

The comparison of different solder alloy materials for PTH capacitor assembly during the laser soldering process has not been reported to date. Additionally, volume of fluid numerical analysis of the quality and reliability of different solder alloy joints has never been conducted on real PTH capacitor assemblies.

3D printing techniques such as material extrusion based additive manufacturing provide a promising and cost effective manufacturing technique. However, the main challenges in industrial applications remain with the quality assurance of mass produced parts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of compression moulding as a rapid consolidation method for 3D printed composites, with an aim to reduce voids and defects and thus improving quality assurance of printed parts.

To develop an understanding of the inherent voids in 3D parts and the influence on mechanical properties, material extrusion additively manufactured (MEX) parts were post consolidated by using compression moulding at elevated temperature.

This study comparatively investigates the influence of carbon fibre length, undergoing process induced scission during filament extrusion and IM and its impact on void content and mechanical properties. It was found that the post consolidation significantly reduced the voids and the mechanical properties were significantly improved compared to the nonconsolidated material extrusion additively manufactured parts, reaching values similar to those of the IM parts.

Adaptation of extrusion-based additive manufacturing with hybridisation of reliable compression moulding technology transcends into series production of highly adaptive end user applications, such as drones, advanced sports prosthetics, competitive cycling and more.

This paper adds to the current understanding of 3D printing and provides a step towards quality assurance for mass production.

This paper aims to evaluate and predict the tensile properties of additively manufactured continuous wire polymer composites (CWPCs).

An open-source 3D printer was modified to print CWPCs where metal wires act as a reinforcement within a polymer matrix. The influence of different wire materials and diameters on the tensile modulus and ultimate tensile strength was studied. Different polymer matrixes were used to investigate the effect of the matrix on CWPCs’ tensile properties. The behaviour of samples was predicted analytically using the rule of mixture micromechanical approach and investigated experimentally using an American society for testing and materials standard tensile test.

Experimental results showed improvement in the elastic modulus and ultimate strength of CWPCs compared with non-reinforced specimens. Deviation between the experimental data and the analytical prediction was found to be dependent on the matrix type, wire volume fraction and wire material.

This paper introduces novel continuous metal wire-reinforced 3D printed composites. The continuous wire inside the print can be used as a strain gauge which can give an early alert for material failure. Applications for CWPCs include 3D-printed pressure and temperature sensors which measure the change in the wire’s electrical resistance and 3D-printed heaters which would work by supplying current through continuous wires.

Friction stir welding (FSW) butt-joining involving the use of a dissimilar filler metal insert between the retreating and advancing portions of the workpiece is investigated computationally using a combined Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) finite element analysis (FEA). The emphasis of the computational analysis was placed on the understanding of the inter-material mixing and weld-flaw formation during a dissimilar-material FSW process. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The FEA employed is of a two-way thermo-mechanical character (i.e. frictional-sliding/plastic-work dissipation was taken to act as a heat source in the energy conservation equation), while temperature is allowed to affect mechanical aspects of the model through temperature-dependent material properties. Within the analysis, the workpiece and the filler-metal insert are treated as different materials within the Eulerian subdomain, while the tool was treated as a conventional Lagrangian subdomain. The use of the CEL formulation within the workpiece insert helped avoid numerical difficulties associated with excessive Lagrangian element distortion.

The results obtained revealed that, in order to obtain flaw-free FSW joints with properly mixed filler and base materials, process parameters including the location of the tool relative to the centerline of the weld must be selected judiciously.

To the authors’ knowledge, the present work is the first reported attempt to simulate FSW of dissimilar materials.