THE DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNATIONAL WATER AND SANITATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS: DEFINING “QUALITY AT ENTRY” OF WORLD BANK PROJECTS.

Over the past 15 years, the number of international development projects aimed at combating global poverty has increased significantly. Within the water and sanitation sector however, and despite heightened global attention and an increase in the number of infrastructure projects, over 800 million people remain without access to appropriate water and sanitation facilities. The majority of donor aid in the water supply and sanitation sector of developing countries is delivered through standalone projects. The quality of projects at the design and preparation stage is a critical determinant in meeting project objectives. The quality of projects at early stage of design, widely referred to as quality at entry (QAE), however remains unquantified and largely subjective. This research argues that water and sanitation infrastructure projects in the developing world tend to be designed in the absence of a specific set of actions that ensure high QAE, and consequently have relatively high rates of failure. This research analyzes 32 cases of water and sanitation infrastructure projects implemented with partial or full World Bank financing globally from 2000 – 2010. The research uses categorical data analysis, regression analysis and descriptive analysis to examine perceived linkages between project QAE and project development outcomes and determines which upstream project design factors are likely to impact the QAE of international development projects in water supply and sanitation. The research proposes a number of specific design stage actions that can be incorporated into the formal review process of water and sanitation projects financed by the World Bank or other international development partners.

Advanced Adhesion Strength Testing Methods of Thin Film Multilayers in Electronic Packaging Systems

With the continued miniaturization and increasing performance of electronic devices, new technical challenges have arisen. One such issue is delamination occurring at critical interfaces inside the device. This major reliability issue can occur during the manufacturing process or during normal use of the device. Proper evaluation of the adhesion strength of critical interfaces early in the product development cycle can help reduce reliability issues and time-to-market of the product. However, conventional adhesion strength testing is inherently limited in the face of package miniaturization, which brings about further technical challenges to quantify design integrity and reliability. Although there are many different interfaces in today's advanced electronic packages, they can be generalized into two main categories: 1) rigid to rigid connections with a thin flexible polymeric layer in between, or 2) a thin film membrane on a rigid structure. Knowing that every technique has its own advantages and disadvantages, multiple testing methods must be enhanced and developed to be able to accommodate all the interfaces encountered for emerging electronic packaging technologies. For evaluating the adhesion strength of high adhesion strength interfaces in thin multilayer structures a novel adhesion test configuration called “single cantilever adhesion test (SCAT)” is proposed and implemented for an epoxy molding compound (EMC) and photo solder resist (PSR) interface. The test method is then shown to be capable of comparing and selecting the stronger of two potential EMC/PSR material sets. Additionally, a theoretical approach for establishing the applicable testing domain for a four-point bending test method was presented. For evaluating polymeric films on rigid substrates, major testing challenges are encountered for reducing testing scatter and for factoring in the potentially degrading effect of environmental conditioning on the material properties of the film. An advanced blister test with predefined area test method was developed that considers an elasto-plastic analytical solution and implemented for a conformal coating used to prevent tin whisker growth. The advanced blister testing with predefined area test method was then extended by employing a numerical method for evaluating the adhesion strength when the polymer’s film properties are unknown.