Hybrid micro-macro BEM formulation for crack interactions in electronic assemblies

Defects such as cracks and interfaces are very common features of electronics assemblies. Their integrity under service conditions depends to a large extent on the interactions and evolution of these micro-scale features. In this paper local analysis schemes capable of detailed representations of the micro-features of a problem are integrated with a macro-scale BEM technique capable of handling complex finite geometries and realistic boundary conditions. The numerical results obtained from the hybrid BEM analysis establish the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed micro-macro computational scheme for this class of problems. The proposed micro-macro BEM formulation can easily be extended to investigate the effects of other micro-features on macroscopic failure modes observed in structural components.