Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering

Service Experience:

The Center for Advance Life Cycle Engineering operates two industry consortia: Electronics Products and Systems Consortium (EPSC) and Prognostics and Health Management Consortium (PHMC). Through these consortia, CALCE conduct research efforts and report results to consortia sponsors.

Over the past three years, CALCE EPSC research has include assessment of failure risk presented by tin whiskers, assessment of part reprocessing (reballing/solder dipping) on assembly reliability, assessment of rework using lead-free materials, testing of halogen free printed wiring board materials, strategies for preventing infiltration of counterfeit parts, strategies for obsolescence management, radio frequency and digital signal analysis for interconnect failure assessment, reliability assessment of battery and energy storage systems, multiple layer ceramic chip capabilities, embedded capacitors, micro-electromechanical (MEMS), and thermal interface materials (TIMS). The EPSC is sponsored by over 35 active members include BAE, Boeing, Defense Microelectronics Activity, General Dynamics, Hamilton Sundstrand, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Raytheon Company, Rockwell Collins, Rolls Royce, US Army Material Systems Analysis Activity (AMSAA), US Army Research Lab (ARL), and US Naval Surface Warfare Center – Crane, IN.,

The CALCE PHMC was initiated in 2006 based on several successful related projects conducted under the EPSC. The PHMC is developing numerical analysis routines to support data driven prognostics, physics of failure (PoF) models coupled with environmental data collection to support model driven prognostics, and fusion based approaches that couple data and PoF model based methods. PHMC is sponsored by a growing number of organizations (currently 16).

Past Performance:

CALCE has contracts with NASA and ARL on prognostics related research. These contracts are supporting the development of prognostics for avionics and weapons systems. Further, CALCE test services and failure analysis laboratory (TSFA) has been conducting test and measurement activities for a variety of companies. The TSFA has conducted failure analysis using in-house lab equipment including a high resolution X-ray, scanning electron microscope, and XRF measurement system. In a year, the TSFA typically provides failure analysis, design review, process benchmarking and training services to more than one hundred companies.