Properties and behaviour of Pb-free solders in flip-chip scale solder interconnections

Due to pending legislations and market pressure, lead-free solders will replace Sn–Pb solders in 2006. Among the lead-free solders being studied, eutectic Sn–Ag, Sn–Cu and Sn–Ag–Cu are promising candidates and Sn–3.8Ag–0.7Cu could be the most appropriate replacement due to its overall balance of properties. In order to garner more understanding of lead-free solders and their application in flip-chip scale packages, the properties of lead free solders, including the wettability, intermetallic compound (IMC) growth and distribution, mechanical properties, reliability and corrosion resistance, were studied and are presented in this thesis. [Continues.

On the Role of “Fuzzy Language” in Cultivating “Core Accomplishment”: Based on the Cross-Cultural Communication

Fuzzy language has something to do with beauty, techniques, competence and accomplishment. On the way from "core knowledge era" to "core accomplishment era", the author tries to focus on the role of fuzzy language in cultivating students’ core accomplishment by cultivating aesthetic taste, promoting international understanding, enriching humanistic accomplishment and enhancing practical ability

Involvement of the JNK/FOXO3a/Bim Pathway in Neuronal Apoptosis after Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Damage in Neonatal Rats.

c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) plays a key role in the regulation of neuronal apoptosis. Previous studies have revealed that forkhead transcription factor (FOXO3a) is a critical effector of JNK-mediated tumor suppression. However, it is not clear whether the JNK/FOXO3a pathway is involved in neuronal apoptosis in the developing rat brain after hypoxia-ischemia (HI). In this study, we generated an HI model using postnatal day 7 rats. Fluorescence immunolabeling and Western blot assays were used to detect the distribution and expression of total and phosphorylated JNK and FOXO3a and the pro-apoptotic proteins Bim and CC3. We found that JNK phosphorylation was accompanied by FOXO3a dephosphorylation, which induced FOXO3a translocation into the nucleus, resulting in the upregulation of levels of Bim and CC3 proteins. Furthermore, we found that JNK inhibition by AS601245, a specific JNK inhibitor, significantly increased FOXO3a phosphorylation, which attenuated FOXO3a translocation into the nucleus after HI. Moreover, JNK inhibition downregulated levels of Bim and CC3 proteins, attenuated neuronal apoptosis and reduced brain infarct volume in the developing rat brain. Our findings suggest that the JNK/FOXO3a/Bim pathway is involved in neuronal apoptosis in the developing rat brain after HI. Agents targeting JNK may offer promise for rescuing neurons from HI-induced damage

Health Condition Monitoring of Induction Motors

Induction motors (IMs) are commonly used in various industrial applications. A spectrum synch (SS) technique is proposed in this chapter for early IM defect detection using electric current signals; fault detection in this work will focus on defects in rolling element bearings and rotor bars, which together account for more than half of IM imperfections. In bearing fault detection, the proposed SS technique will highlight the peakedness of the fault frequency components distributed over several fault related local bands. These bands are synchronized to form a fault information spectrum to accentuate fault features. A central kurtosis indicator is proposed to extract representative features from the fault information spectrum and formulate a fault index for incipient IM fault diagnosis. The effectiveness of the developed SS technique is tested on IMs with broken rotor bars and with damaged bearings

Influence of rivet to sheet edge distance on fatigue strength of self-piercing riveted aluminium joints

Self-piercing riveting (SPR) is one of the main joining methods for lightweight aluminium automotive body structures due to its advantages. In order to further optimise the structure design and reduce the weight but without compromising strength, reduction of redundant materials in the joint flange area can be considered. For this reason, the influence of rivet to sheet edge distance on the fatigue strengths of self-piercing riveted joints was studied. Five edge distances, 5 mm, 6 mm, 8 mm, 11.5 mm and 14.5 mm, were considered. The results showed that the SPR joints studied in this research had high fatigue resistance and all specimens failed in sheet material along joint buttons or next to rivet heads. For lap shear fatigue tests, specimens failed in the bottom sheet at low load amplitudes and in the top sheet at high load amplitudes except for specimens with very short edge distance of 5 and 6 mm; whereas, for coach-peel fatigue tests, all specimens failed in the top sheet. For both lap shear and coach-peel fatigue tests, specimens with an edge distance of 11.5 mm had the best fatigue resistance. It was found that for coach-peel fatigue, length of crack developing path before specimens lost their strengths was the main factor that determined the fatigue life of different specimens; for lap shear fatigue, the level of stress concentration and subsequent crack initiation time was the main factor that determined the fatigue life