A numerical tool for thermo-mechanical analysis of multilayer stepped structures

An integrated simulation tool for multilayer stepped pyramidal structures is presented. The tool, based on a semi-analytical mathematical strategy, is able to calculate the temperature distributions and thermal stresses at the interfaces between the layers of such structures. The core of the thermal solver is the analytical simulator for power electronic devices, DJOSER, which has been supplemented with a mechanical solver based on the finite-element method. To this end, a new element is proposed whose geometry is defined by its mean surface and thickness, just as in a plate. The resulting mechanical model is fully three-dimensional, in the sense that the deformability in the direction orthogonal to the mean surface is taken into account. The dedicated finite element code developed for solving the equilibrium problem of structures made up of two or more superimposed plates subjected to thermal loads is applied to some two-layer samples made of silicon and copper. Comparisons performed with the results of standard finite element analyses using a large number of brick elements reveal the soundness of the strategy employed and the accuracy of the tool developed.