Title image - The Centre for Numerical Modelling and Process Analysis

Computational Mechanics & Reliability Group

About

The Computational Mechanics and Reliability Group is a world leader in the development and application of computer-aided technologies which predict the physical behaviour, performance, reliability, and maintainability of complex engineering systems and products. The team within the group has been active since the mid 1990's and was submitted under computational modelling in the 2001 RAE submission. The group was formed in 2004 after the departure of the head of the centre and of the computational modelling group.

Particular focus of the group's work is the development of software tools and modelling techniques for multi-physics predictions, failure analysis, reliability, and optimisation. These technologies predict the performance and reliability of electronic, photonic, and micro/nano-scale components used in many industrial sectors such as transport, medical and telecommunications, etc. CMRG members serve on a number of influential committees such as the Dti materials metrology working group, International Microelectronics Packaging Society (IMAPS), the Innovative Electronics Manufacturing Research Centre (IeMRC), and the EPSRC college. CMRG are also co-developers of the commercial multi-physics code PHYSICA.

CMRG is active in both theoretical and applied research. This work is supported by government funding agencies such as the EPSRC, Dti, EU framework programme, and also by industry both nationally and internationally.


Group Awards & Achievements

2006:

  • Prof. Bailey invited as academic member of the DTi global watch missions to the USA to review latest technologies being developed for thermal management of electronic systems.
  • CMRG predictions on the structural behaviour of the Cutty Sark ship are part of the Heritage Lottery Submission made by the Cutty Sark Trust. This submission was successful with the award of £12 million.

2005:

  • Prof Bailey invited as academic member of the DTi global watch missions to China to review latest trends in Optoelectronics Manufacturing.
  • Group's work cited in the Royal Academy of Engineering consultation document to the UK government as an example of best practice for university/industry collaboration.

2004:

  • CMRG invited to present its ESPRC sponsored research at Royal Academy of Engineering/EPSRC 'Celebration of UK Engineering Research and Innovation'.
  • Technology developed by the group is embedded into the PHYSICA software product which is now licensed through the companies MPSL and PHYSICA Ltd. Professor Bailey is a founding director of both companies.
  • Prof. Bailey awarded the Royal Society/Kan Tong Po Visiting Professorship to Hong Kong (2004).

2003:

  • Team becomes a member of the EPPIC Faraday Partnership. Prof. Bailey also leads the Science and Technology consortium consisting of six universities and two RTO's, representing these institutions at board level within the partnership.

Selected Publications

  • Flo/Stress: an Integrated Software Module to Predict Stress in Electronic Products. IEE Journal of Computing and Control Engineering, 13, 2002.
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  • Computational Modelling Techniques for Reliability of Electronic Components on Printed Circuit Boards. Applied Numerical Mathematics, 40, 2002.
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  • A Vertex based finite volume method applied to non-linear material problems in computational solid mechanics. Int. Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 56, 2003.
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  • A Cell-Centred Finite Volume Method for Modelling Viscoelastic Flow. Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics, 117, 2004.
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  • Effects of solder reflow on the reliability of flip-chip on flex interconnections using anisotropic conductive adhesives. IEEE Transactions on Electronics Packaging Manufacturing, 27, 2004.
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  • Dynamic Analysis of Flip-chip Self-alignment. IEEE Transactions on Advanced Packaging, 28, 2005.
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  • Investigation into the Performance of Turbulence Models for Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Phenomena in Electronic Applications. IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies, 28, 2005.
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  • Ultra-Fine Pitch Stencil Printing for a Low Cost and Low Temperature Flip-Chip Assembly Process. To appear in IEEE Transactions of Advanced Packaging, 2007.
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To learn more about our team and research visit our group website

Group photo
Key Team Members >
Prof Chris Bailey: CMRG Director

Group Statistics

2006:

  • 8 Research Staff
  • 12 Doctoral Students

2001-2006:

  • 80 Total Publications (includes 36 generated during 2001-2004 while part of CSEG).
  • £1,754,486 Total Research Income (includes £860,000 generated during 2001-2004 while part of CSEG)

Selected Projects

  • Modelling of Power Modules (MPM): Predicting the reliability of high voltage electronic modules as used in trains, aircraft and power generating plants

Significant Grants

2006:

  • £120,000 secured from the EPSRC (IeMRC) for research into Inverse Modelling for Prognostics and Diagnostics of engineering systems. This two year project involves collaboration with Nottingham University and a number of companies including Rolls Royce and Smith Industries.
  • £98,000 secured from EPSRC (IeMRC) for the project FAMOBS which will build models to investigate microwave curing of polymer materials used to package electronic and photonic devices. This project is in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University and a number of companies including Micro Circuit Engineering and Bookham Technology.
  • €164,000 secured from EU for a Marie Curie fellowship. This supports a visiting researcher from Hong Kong to model electro-migration in very small interconnect structures. Novel modelling techniques will be used and validated with experimental work taking place in Hong Kong and at the National Physical Laboratory.

2005:

  • £405,000 secured from the EPSRC as part of a £4.1 million grant (3D-Mintegration) concerned with modelling the manufacture of micro and nano sized-systems. This proposal won the EPSRC grand challenge call in novel manufacturing. CMRG is playing a lead role in the design and simulation workpackage.
  • £220,000 secured from the DTi into research concerned with Reliability Predictions and Risk Analysis for Power Electronic modules with the project on Modelling Power Electronic Modules. This project is in collaboration with a number of companies that represent the supply chain for power modules. This includes Goodrich, Dynex Semiconductors, and Semilab.
  • £210,619 secured for 'MEMSA', an EPSRC funded project to model the electroforming process as used to fabricate Microsystems. This is a three year collaborative project with Heriot-Watt University, Merlin Circuits, and Raytheon Systems.
  • £184,000 for 'Power Electronics Flagship', a project supported by the EPSRC (IeMRC). This project will develop physics-of-failure models for reliability predictions of power electronic modules.
  • £103,000 secured from ESPRC (IeMRC) for the SiP-design project which is building reduced order models for System-in-Package microelectronic structures. This project is in collaboration with Lancaster University, Selex, Flomerics, and Phillips.

2004:

  • £137,000 secured from DTi and the Cutty Sark Trust as part of a KTP to use finite element technology to model and help conserve the Cutty Sark clipper ship.

2003:

  • £75,120 secured from EPSRC and the National Physical Laboratory to model the reliability of lead-free solders.

2002:

  • £293,000 secured from the DTi and Flomerics Limited to investigate unstructured Computational Fluid Dynamics solvers.

2001:

  • £130,000 secured for research into computational mechanics for Micro and Nano-Systems with the EPSRC grant Microsystems Applications for the 21st Century (MAT-21). This was a collaborative project with Heriot-Watt University. Its results helped establish the spin-out company Microstencil.