Technological advancement has thrust MEMS design and fabrication into the forefront of modern technologies. It has become sufficiently self-sustained to allow mass production. The limiting factor which is stalling commercialization of MEMS is the packaging and device reliability. The challenging issues with MEMS packaging are application specific. The function of the package is to give the MEMS device mechanical support, protection from the environment, and electrical connection to other devices in the system. The current state of the art in MEMS packaging transcends the various packaging techniques available in the integrated circuit (IC) industry. At present the packaging of MEMS includes hermetic ceramic packaging and metal packaging with hermetic seals. For example the ADXL202 accelerometer from the Analog Devices. Study of the packaging methods and costs show that both of these methods of packaging are expensive and not needed for majority of MEMS applications. Due to this the cost of current MEMS packaging is relatively high, as much as 90% of the finished product. Reducing the cost is therefore of the prime concern. This Thesis explores the possibility of an inexpensive plastic package for MEMS sensors like accelerometers, optical MEMS, blood pressure sensors etc. Due to their cost effective techniques, plastic packaging already dominates the IC industry. They cost less, weigh less, and their size is small. However, porous nature of molding materials allows penetration of moisture into the package. The Thesis includes an extensive study of the plastic packaging and characterization of three different plastic package samples. Polymeric materials warp upon absorbing moisture, generating hygroscopic stresses. Hygroscopic stresses in the package add to the thermal stress due to high reflow temperature. Despite this, hygroscopic characteristics of the plastic package have been largely ignored. To facilitate understanding of the moisture absorption, an analytical model is presented in this Thesis. Also, an empirical model presents, in this Thesis, the parameters affecting moisture ingress. This information is important to determine the moisture content at a specific time, which would help in assessing reliability of the package. Moisture absorption is modeled using the single phase absorption theory, which assumes that moisture diffusion occurs freely without any bonding with the resin. This theory is based on the Fick's Law of diffusion, which considers that the driving force of diffusion is the water concentration gradient. A finite difference simulation of one-dimensional moisture diffusion using the Crank-Nicolson implicit formula is presented. Moisture retention causes swelling of compounds which, in turn, leads to warpage. The warpage induces hygroscopic stresses. These stresses can further limit the performance of the MEMS sensors. This Thesis also presents a non invasive methodology to characterize a plastic package. The warpage deformations of the package are measured using Optoelectronic holography (OEH) methodology. The OEH methodology is noninvasive, remote, and provides results in full-field-of-view. Using the quantitative results of OEH measurements of deformations of a plastic package, pressure build up can be calculated and employed to assess the reliability of the package.

As estruturas de concreto armado são um dos tipos de estrutura mais utilizados no mundo e quando localizadas em ambientes não agressivos, respeitam a vida útil para a qual foram projetadas. Entretanto, a durabilidade dessas estruturas pode ser fortemente reduzida por processos de degradação de origens ambientais e/ou funcionais. Dentre esses processos, destacam-se aqueles que desencadeiam a corrosão das armaduras, sendo a difusão de cloretos um dos fatores de maior importância no desencadeamento do processo corrosivo. Apesar da robustez de diversos modelos propostos na literatura, abordagens determinísticas frequentemente falham ao prever o tempo de início da corrosão devido à enorme e à inerente aleatoriedade envolvida nesse processo. Neste contexto, a durabilidade pode ser mais realisticamente representada por meio de modelos probabilísticos. Este trabalho apresenta uma formulação numérica, baseada no Método dos Elementos Finitos (MEF), para a determinação de cenários de falha de vigas de concreto armado submetidas à penetração de cloretos. Nessa formulação, a não linearidade física do concreto é descrita pelo modelo de dano de Mazars e a variação da concentração de cloretos no interior do concreto é determinada por meio da segunda lei de Fick. Além disso, as leis de corrosão de Faraday são adotadas para a determinação da taxa de redução das áreas de aço ao longo do tempo. A partir das cargas de colapso calculadas pelo modelo mecânico, as probabilidades de falha são determinadas utilizando o algoritmo de confiabilidade FORM. Os resultados obtidos mostram a influência da corrosão na segurança estrutural de estruturas de concreto armado ao longo do tempo, assim como, seu impacto na durabilidade dessas estruturas. / Reinforced concrete structures are one of the most commonly used types of structures in the world and when these structures respects the structural life predicted when it is located in non-aggressive environments. However, the durability of these structures can be strongly reduced by degradation processes caused by environmental and/or functional origins. Among these processes, those related to reinforcement\'s corrosion are more outstanding, being the chloride diffusion one of most important factors that triggers the corrosion process. Despite the robustness of several models proposed in literature, deterministic approaches often fail to predict the time of corrosion initiation due to the huge inherent randomness involved in the process itself. In this context, the durability can be more realistically represented by probabilistic models. This work presents a numerical formulation based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) to determine the failure configuration of reinforced concrete beams subjected to chloride penetration. In this formulation, the non-linearity of the concrete is described by Mazars damage model and the variation of chloride concentration along concrete cover is determined by Fick\'s second law. Moreover, Faraday\'s law concerning corrosion is adopted in order to determine the reduction rate of steel areas over a period of time. The probabilities of failure are determined using the reliability algorithm FORM, which accounts the collapse Sloads calculated by the mechanical model. The results showed the influence of corrosion phenomenon on the structural safety of reinforced concrete along time as well as its impact on the structural durability.

As estruturas de concreto armado são um dos tipos de estrutura mais utilizados no mundo e quando localizadas em ambientes não agressivos, respeitam a vida útil para a qual foram projetadas. Entretanto, a durabilidade dessas estruturas pode ser fortemente reduzida por processos de degradação de origens ambientais e/ou funcionais. Dentre esses processos, destacam-se aqueles que desencadeiam a corrosão das armaduras, sendo a difusão de cloretos um dos fatores de maior importância no desencadeamento do processo corrosivo. Apesar da robustez de diversos modelos propostos na literatura, abordagens determinísticas frequentemente falham ao prever o tempo de início da corrosão devido à enorme e à inerente aleatoriedade envolvida nesse processo. Neste contexto, a durabilidade pode ser mais realisticamente representada por meio de modelos probabilísticos. Este trabalho apresenta uma formulação numérica, baseada no Método dos Elementos Finitos (MEF), para a determinação de cenários de falha de vigas de concreto armado submetidas à penetração de cloretos. Nessa formulação, a não linearidade física do concreto é descrita pelo modelo de dano de Mazars e a variação da concentração de cloretos no interior do concreto é determinada por meio da segunda lei de Fick. Além disso, as leis de corrosão de Faraday são adotadas para a determinação da taxa de redução das áreas de aço ao longo do tempo. A partir das cargas de colapso calculadas pelo modelo mecânico, as probabilidades de falha são determinadas utilizando o algoritmo de confiabilidade FORM. Os resultados obtidos mostram a influência da corrosão na segurança estrutural de estruturas de concreto armado ao longo do tempo, assim como, seu impacto na durabilidade dessas estruturas. / Reinforced concrete structures are one of the most commonly used types of structures in the world and when these structures respects the structural life predicted when it is located in non-aggressive environments. However, the durability of these structures can be strongly reduced by degradation processes caused by environmental and/or functional origins. Among these processes, those related to reinforcement\'s corrosion are more outstanding, being the chloride diffusion one of most important factors that triggers the corrosion process. Despite the robustness of several models proposed in literature, deterministic approaches often fail to predict the time of corrosion initiation due to the huge inherent randomness involved in the process itself. In this context, the durability can be more realistically represented by probabilistic models. This work presents a numerical formulation based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) to determine the failure configuration of reinforced concrete beams subjected to chloride penetration. In this formulation, the non-linearity of the concrete is described by Mazars damage model and the variation of chloride concentration along concrete cover is determined by Fick\'s second law. Moreover, Faraday\'s law concerning corrosion is adopted in order to determine the reduction rate of steel areas over a period of time. The probabilities of failure are determined using the reliability algorithm FORM, which accounts the collapse Sloads calculated by the mechanical model. The results showed the influence of corrosion phenomenon on the structural safety of reinforced concrete along time as well as its impact on the structural durability.