Investigating the heat transfer on the top side of inclined printed circuit boards during vapour phase soldering

Abstract

In this paper, heat transfer and condensate layer formation was investigated by numerical simulations on the top side of inclined printed circuit boards during vapour phase soldering. The phase change on the inclined surface and the transfer mechanisms in the condensate layer were embedded in a three-dimensional model. Steady-state and saturated vapour conditions were applied as boundary conditions in order to study the pure effect of the inclination. Due to the electronic component and circuit board structures during soldering only moderate inclination angles were studied between 0° and 10°. It was found that a moderate inclination of the printed circuit board has considerable effects on the formation of condensate layer and consequently on heat transfer. Compared to the default horizontal orientation of the board, the thickness differences of the condensate layer can be decreased with an optimised inclination of the printed circuit board. This effect homogenizes heat transfer during the process, enabling improved solder joint quality, with reduced overall soldering failure count.