Wall Adhesion Driven Solder Reflow on an Electronic Connector using VOF Model (ABP)

This Application Best Practice (ABP) provides a step‑by‑step guide to simulating solder reflow on an electronic connector using the VOF model, outlining the essential workflow from geometry setup and poly‑hexcore meshing to multiphase physics, melting/solidification, and surface‑tension modeling. It highlights how temperature‑driven wetting behavior is evaluated through two comparative cases by changing the operating conditions, illustrating solder spreading and wall‑adhesion effects, and concludes with insights on mesh‑refinement impacts to help ensure stable, accurate free‑surface predictions for electronics manufacturing applications. 

Learning Outcomes:

Following completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the physical principles behind solder reflow and the role of surface tension and wall adhesion in wetting behavior. 
• Set up a complete VOF‑based multiphase simulation in Ansys Fluent® fluid simulation software, including melting/solidification and surface‑tension modeling. 
• Prepare and mesh the geometry using poly‑hexcore meshing and body‑of‑influence regions to refine mesh in the surface tension dominated regions to improve interface accuracy. 
• Initialize and run transient simulations for different thermal conditions to evaluate solder spreading and wetting on component surfaces. 
• Assess the impact of mesh refinement and numerical settings on interface sharpness, stability, and prediction reliability. 

Prerequisites:

• Ansys Fluent Getting Started: Basics
• Ansys Fluent Meshing with Watertight Geometry Workflow
• Ansys Fluent Multiphase Flow Modeling

Please note: These training materials were developed and tested in the 2025R2 release.