Validation of constitutive models for electrically conductive adhesives

By means of standard characterisation experiments, the parameters in a viscoelastic model were determined for a commercially available isotropically conductive adhesive. Next, two non-standard tests were conducted to validate the predictions of this model under conditions closer to the practical application of the adhesive. The performance of the viscoelastic model was compared to that of an elastic model. Finally, the model was used to study the thermo-mechanical performance of a photovoltaics laminate during temperature cycling. The numerical simulations predict that the original design of the PV laminate results in excessively high stresses in the adhesive interconnect which are expected to cause failure and therefore a change in design is required.