Investigator: RNDr. Aleš Kroupa, CSc.
Number of Project: COST OC 531.02
Agency: Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
Duration: 01. 01. 2002 - 31. 01. 2006

The scientific program of this COST Action addresses basic scientific research on various properties of possible lead-free solder materials as well as problems of their practical application.
The tasks of our research group are expected to be as follows:
i. Carry out the theoretical modeling of the phase diagrams. Using the data from the literature as well as new experimental data, the phase diagrams of the new solder materials will be optimised using the so-called CALPHAD (Calculation of phase diagrams) method.
ii. We are part of the working group (National Physical Laboratory, UK, University of Leeds, UK, Masaryk University, Brno, CR), aimed on the development of the thermodynamic database for the phase diagram modelling of systems, important for lead-free soldering.
iii. The precise experimental study of phase equilibria in promising metallic systems, which can be taken into consideration for lead-free solder materials, are carried out - mainly the systems based on Sn-Zn-X (X=Bi, PD…) are taken into account. The analytical electron microscopy, metalography, DSC and other methods for studying the structure of materials are used to obtain the experimental phase and thermodynamic data.

J. Vízdal, A. Kroupa, J. Popovič, A. Zemanová: The Experimental and Theoretical Study of Phase Equilibria in the Pd-Zn(-Sn) System, Advanced Engineering Materials 8 (2006) 164-176.

A. Kroupa, A.T. Dinsdale, A. Watson, J. Vrestal, J. Vizdal, and A. Zemanova: The Development of the COST 531 Lead-Free Solders Thermodynamic Database, JOM Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, 59 (2007) 20-25.

Dinsdale A., Watson A., Kroupa A., Vřešťál J., Zemanová A., Vízdal J.: Atlas of Phase Diagrams for Lead-free Soldering, COST office, Brno 2008, ISBN 978-80-86292-28-1

Vizdal, J; Braga, MH; Kroupa, A, et al .: Thermodynamic assessment of the Bi-Sn-Zn system, CALPHAD-COMPUTER COUPLING OF PHASE DIAGRAMS AND THERMOCHEMISTRY, 31(2007), 438-448

Braga, MH; Vizdal, J; Kroupa, A, et al.: The experimental study of the Bi-Sn, Bi-Zn and Bi-Sn-Zn systems, CALPHAD-COMPUTER COUPLING OF PHASE DIAGRAMS AND THERMOCHEMISTRY, 31(2007), 468-478

Kroupa, A; Dinsdale, AT; Watson, A, Vrestal, J., Vizdal, J., Zemanova, A.: The development of the COST 531 lead-free solders thermodynamic diabase, JOM, 59(2007)/ 7, 20-25

Watson, A; Kroupa, A; Ipser, H, et al.: Soldering on, MATERIALS WORLD, 15(2007)/7, 32-33