Time-domain based characterization methods, mainly time-domain reflectometry (TDR) and time-domain transmissometry (TDT), have been used to locate faults in twisted cables, telegraph lines, and connectors in the electrical and telecommunication industry. This article provides a brief review of conventional TDR and its application limitations to advanced packages in semiconductor industry. The article introduces electro optical terahertz pulse reflectometry (EOTPR) and discusses how its improvements of using high frequency impulse signal addressed application challenges and quickly made it a well-adopted tool in the industry. The third part of this article introduces a new method which combines impulse signal and the TDT concept, and discusses a combo TDR and TDT method. Cases studies and application notes are shared and discussed for each technique. Application benefits and limitations of these techniques (TDR, EOTPR, and combo TDR/TDT) are summarized and compared.

Temperature is a critical process parameter in the heat treatment and forging of steel and must be accurately measured to properly control it. This appendix discusses the operating principles of thermocouples and infrared pyrometers, describing the various types as well as advantages and applications.

This article discusses the composition, properties, and behaviors of copper and its alloys. It begins with an overview of the characteristics, applications, and commercial grades of wrought and cast copper. It then discusses the role of alloying, explaining how zinc, tin, aluminum, silicon, and nickel affect the physical and mechanical properties of coppers and high-copper alloys as well as brasses, bronzes, copper-nickels, and nickel silvers. It also explains how alloying affects electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance, stress-corrosion cracking, and processing characteristics.

This chapter describes the conditions under which copper-base alloys are susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) and some of the environmental factors, such as temperature, pH, and corrosion potential, that influence crack growth and time to failure. It explains that, although most of the literature has been concerned with copper zinc alloys in ammoniacal solutions, there are a number of alloy-environment combinations where SCC has been observed. The chapter discusses several of these cases and the effect of various application parameters, including composition, microstructure, heat treatment, cold working, and stress intensity. It also provides information on stress-corrosion testing, mitigation techniques, and basic cracking mechanisms.

This chapter discusses five forms of mechanically assisted degradation of metals: erosion, fretting, fretting fatigue, cavitation and water drop impingement, and corrosion fatigue. Emphasis is placed on the mechanisms and the factors affecting these forms of degradation.

Fault-tree analysis is a graphical technique that identifies all events and combinations of events that can produce an undesired event. This chapter emphasizes several fault-tree analysis concepts, examining with examples how all three categories of charting symbols (events, gates, and transfer symbols) come together to generate a fault-tree analysis.

Environmentally assisted cracking is a generic term that includes various cracking phenomena such as stress-corrosion cracking (SCC), corrosion fatigue cracking, and liquid-metal embrittlement. This chapter describes these cracking mechanisms beginning with SCC and the factors that influence its formation. It covers alloy selection and mitigation techniques and includes examples of SCC in aircraft components. The chapter also addresses corrosion fatigue, explaining how different environments and operating conditions affect crack propagation, fatigue strength, and fatigue life. It includes information on liquid-metal embrittlement as well.

A system failure occurs when a system does not do what it is supposed to do when it is supposed to do it, or it does something it is not supposed to do. This chapter provides a basic understanding of how failures occur, how systems operate, and the types of failures, namely intermittent and inadvertent system failures.

This chapter covers special fault-tree analysis topics, including the use of transfer symbols, INHIBIT gates, sequential AND gates, state-of-the-part versus state-of-the-system considerations, and the fault tree to identify redundancy-defeating failures.

This chapter is intended to identify materials, processes, and designs that will lead to great advances in powder-binder forming technologies. It discusses some of the structures obtained through these advances in powder-binder technologies such as binder jetting and extrusion-based additive manufacturing, including bound-metal deposition and fused-filament fabrication: oxidation-resistant high-temperature alloys, anisotropic structures, submicrometer-scale structures, surface hard materials, and artist metallic clays. Some of the advances discussed include the developments in process involving plastics, emulsions, ceramics, and porous structures and foams. Improvements in the design processes have led to the development of functional structures, controlled porosity, and bioinspired structures.

This article explains how alloying elements affect the properties and behaviors of electrical contacts. It describes the composition, strength, hardness, and conductivity of a wide range of contact alloys and composites based on silver, copper, gold, platinum, palladium, tungsten, and molybdenum, and related oxides and carbides.

The discovery and use of materials have shaped civilization since ancient times. This chapter traces the history of the use of metals from hammered copper estimated to be 11,000 years old to the development of electrolytically refined aluminum in 1884. The discussion covers the advent of the Bronze Age, extraction of metals from their respective ores, and the discovery of modern metals such as chromium, vanadium, platinum, and titanium.

This chapter describes the molecular structures and chemical reactions associated with the production of thermoset and thermoplastic components. It compares and contrasts the mechanical properties of engineering plastics with those of metals, and explains how fillers and reinforcements affect impact and tensile strength, shrinkage, thermal expansion, and thermal conductivity. It examines the relationship between tensile modulus and temperature, provides thermal property data for selected plastics, and discusses the effect of chemical exposure, operating temperature, and residual stress. The chapter also includes a section on the uses of thermoplastic and thermosetting resins and provides information on fabrication processes and fastening and joining methods.

Copper is often used in the unalloyed form because pure copper is more conductive than copper alloys. Alloying elements are added to optimize strength, ductility, and thermal stability, with little negative effect on other properties such as conductivity, fabricability, and corrosion resistance. This chapter covers the classification, composition, properties, and applications of copper alloys, including brasses, bronzes, copper-nickel, beryllium-copper, and casting alloys. It also examines wrought copper alloys and pure coppers. The chapter begins with an overview of the copper production process and concludes with a discussion on corrosion resistance.

Root cause of failure in automotive electronics cannot be explained by the failure signatures of failed devices. Deeper investigations in these cases reveals that a superimposition of impact factors, which can never be represented by usual qualification testing, caused the failure. This article highlights some of the most frequent early life failure types in automotive applications. It describes some of the critical things to be considered while handling packages and printed circuit board layout. The article also provides information on failure anamnesis that shows how to use history, failure signatures, environmental conditions, regional failure occurrences, user profile issues, and more in the failure analysis process to improve root cause findings.

Joining comprises a large number of processes used to assemble individual parts into a larger, more complex component or assembly. The selection of an appropriate design to join parts is based on several considerations related to both the product and the joining process. Many product design departments now improve the ease with which products are assembled by using design for assembly (DFA) techniques, which seek to ensure ease of assembly by developing designs that are easy to assemble. This chapter discusses the general guidelines for DFA and concurrent engineering rules before examining the various joining processes, namely fusion welding, solid-state welding, brazing, soldering, mechanical fastening, and adhesive bonding. In addition, it provides information on several design considerations related to the joining process and selection of the appropriate process for joining.

This chapter covers the friction and wear behaviors of copper alloys. It describes the compositions and forms of copper available and their suitability for applications involving friction, different types of erosion, and adhesive and abrasive wear.

Liquid metals are frequently used as a heat-transfer medium because of their high thermal conductivities and low vapor pressures. Containment materials used in such heat-transfer systems are subject to molten metal corrosion as well as other problems. This chapter reviews the corrosion behavior of alloys in molten aluminum, zinc, lead, lithium, sodium, magnesium, mercury, cadmium, tin, antimony, and bismuth. It also discusses the problem of liquid metal embrittlement, explaining how it is caused by low-melting-point metals during brazing, welding, and heat treating operations.

This article discusses electrical testing and recommended procedures for determining the electrical properties of insulating materials, with particular emphasis on plastics. It describes the electrical characteristics of various forms of plastics and also presents definitions of the terms used in connection with testing and specifying plastics for electrical applications.

This chapter begins with information on the historical development of aluminum alloy castings. It then covers the basic factors involved in the selection of a casting process. This is followed by sections describing the various categories of casting processes and their variants: expendable mold gravity-feed casting, nonexpendable (permanent) mold gravity feed casting, and pressure die casting. Next, the chapter describes the technologies used to produce premium engineered castings and when such castings may be relevant. The chapter concludes with descriptions of other process technologies used with castings, including metallurgical bonding, metal-matrix composites, and hot isostatic pressing.