No description available.

ITC/USA 2008 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fourth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 27-30, 2008 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / Unique vehicle designs encourage the use of the builder to complete its own failure analysis. Current failure analysis practices use telemetry and diagnostic technology developed over the past 100 years to identify root-cause. When telemetry isn't available speculation is used to create a list of prioritized, potential causes. Prognostic technology consists of generic algorithms that identify equipment that has failed and is going to fail while the equipment is still at the factory allowing the equipment to be repaired or replaced while it is still on the ground for any spacecraft, satellite, launch vehicle and missile.

No description available.

ITC/USA 2009 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fifth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 26-29, 2009 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Current equipment and vehicle failure analysis practices use diagnostic technology developed over the past 100 years of designing and manufacturing electrical and mechanical equipment to identify root cause of equipment failure requiring expertise with the equipment under analysis. If the equipment that failed had telemetry embedded, prognostic algorithms can be used to identify the deterministic behavior in completely normal appearing data from fully functional equipment used for identifying which equipment will fail within 1 year of use, can also identify when the presence of deterministic behavior was initiated for any equipment failure.

ITC/USA 2011 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Seventh Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2011 / Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada / Current failure analysis practices use diagnostic technology developed over the past 100 years of designing and manufacturing electrical and mechanical equipment to identify root cause of equipment failure requiring expertise with the equipment under analysis. If the equipment that failed had telemetry embedded, prognostic algorithms can be used to identify the deterministic behavior in completely normal appearing data from fully functional equipment used for identifying which equipment will fail within 1 year of use, can also identify when the presence of deterministic behavior was initiated for any equipment failure.

This thesis looks into the examination of polymer composite wreckage from the perspective of the aircraft accident investigator. It develops an understanding of the process of wreckage examination as well as identifying the potential for visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite aircraft wreckage. The in-field examination of aircraft wreckage, and subsequent interpretations of material failures, can be a significant part of an aircraft accident investigation. As the use of composite materials in aircraft construction increases, the understanding of how macroscopic failure characteristics of composite materials may aid the field investigator is becoming of increasing importance. The first phase of this research project was to explore how investigation practitioners conduct wreckage examinations. Four accident investigation case studies were examined. The analysis of the case studies provided a framework of the wreckage examination process. Subsequently, a literature survey was conducted to establish the current level of knowledge on the visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite failures. Relevant literature was identified and a compendium of visual and macroscopic characteristics was created. Two full-scale polymer composite wing structures were loaded statically, in an upward bending direction, until each wing structure fractured and separated. The wing structures were subsequently examined for the existence of failure characteristics. The examination revealed that whilst characteristics were present, the fragmentation of the structure destroyed valuable evidence. A hypothetical accident scenario utilising the fractured wing structures was developed, which UK government accident investigators subsequently investigated. This provided refinement to the investigative framework and suggested further guidance on the interpretation of polymer composite failures by accident investigators.

No description available.

In the last decade, reliability problems have become a critical subject in power modules. Understanding design weakness and failure mechanisms of thick wire bond are two critical steps in managing the risk of wire bond heel crack which is the topic of this thesis. Although this thesis does not target a specific type of power modules, we note that thick wire bond heel crack failures occur in Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs). In fact, our aim is to understand failure mechanism in 300μm thick wire bonds with different geometries and materials. Since these wires experience harsh environmental conditions and high load transients, the wires undergo repetitive flexural movement which causes heel crack due to fatigue. For the purpose of understanding this failure mechanism, two experimental setups are built and utilized. The first experimental setup loads the wires using constant currents and observes the response using a scanning laser vibrometer to measure the displacement. The second experimental setup applies repetitive prescribed displacement to the first foot of the wire and detects fatigue failure using a Wheatstone bridge. It is realized that wires have different displacement property depending on their geometry and material. Maximum displacements are observed for Al-H11 instead of CuCorAl and PowerCu.

No description available.

This thesis looks into the examination of polymer composite wreckage from the perspective of the aircraft accident investigator. It develops an understanding of the process of wreckage examination as well as identifying the potential for visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite aircraft wreckage. The in-field examination of aircraft wreckage, and subsequent interpretations of material failures, can be a significant part of an aircraft accident investigation. As the use of composite materials in aircraft construction increases, the understanding of how macroscopic failure characteristics of composite materials may aid the field investigator is becoming of increasing importance. The first phase of this research project was to explore how investigation practitioners conduct wreckage examinations. Four accident investigation case studies were examined. The analysis of the case studies provided a framework of the wreckage examination process. Subsequently, a literature survey was conducted to establish the current level of knowledge on the visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite failures. Relevant literature was identified and a compendium of visual and macroscopic characteristics was created. Two full-scale polymer composite wing structures were loaded statically, in an upward bending direction, until each wing structure fractured and separated. The wing structures were subsequently examined for the existence of failure characteristics. The examination revealed that whilst characteristics were present, the fragmentation of the structure destroyed valuable evidence. A hypothetical accident scenario utilising the fractured wing structures was developed, which UK government accident investigators subsequently investigated. This provided refinement to the investigative framework and suggested further guidance on the interpretation of polymer composite failures by accident investigators.