Effect of thermal contact conductance on the solidification of a Pb-Sn solder alloy

During soldering, the solder/substrate thermal contact conductance must be high enough to prevent the separation of the solidified shelf from the substrate. In the present work, the effect of thermal contact conductance on temperature distribution inside a 60Sn-40Pb solder alloy solidifying against metallic chills was simulated. The results of the simulation indicated that the thermal contact conductance plays a major role during solidification in the solder/substrate interfacial region of the casting particularly when the substrate material has a high thermal conductivity. The influence of solder/chill contact conductance on solidification decreased with increase in the distance from the solder/chill interface.