Search Results

This paper provides the author’s analysis of accelerated testing development. It considers four basic directions related to this development, specifically: 1) field accelerated testing; 2) laboratory testing using computer (software) simulation; 3) laboratory or proving ground testing with physical simulation of high stress inputs; 4) accelerated reliability/durability testing (ART/ADT) as a necessary component of a system that leads to successful prediction of product efficiency.

This paper considers the situation in the laboratory testing: different stress types and accelerated testing, including accelerated reliability/durability testing, accelerated life testing, reliability testing, proving grounds, vibration, temperature, voltage, humidity, and others. In comparison with field situation, most of these testing simulate only one or part of the field input influences. One uses often not accurately the theory of physics-of-degradation process or failures for comparison of the field results with laboratory results. This situation will be considered with practical examples. It will be demonstrated that often used laboratory testing does not offer the possibility for successful prediction of product performance during service life As a result, there are many complaints, recalls, and less profit than was predicted during design and manufacturing. It will be shown how one can improve this situation..

Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) is now the primary source for obtaining initial information for predicting a product's reliability, durability and maintainability. This paper shows that such testing fails to offer relevant information, because the product's degradation process in testing conditions differs substantially from the product's degradation process under field conditions. Consequently, the mean-time-to-failure is skewed, resulting in problems with recalls, reliability, and maintainability. Accelerated reliability and durability testing technology (ART/ADT) is an approach to the problem which can improve the situation with more accurate prediction of reliability and durability.

This paper will discuss the problem of improving reliability prediction. It will consider the analytical advantages and disadvantages of the current situation in both the theoretical and practical aspects of reliability prediction for industry. This problem relates to many different areas of engineering. The author will detail how much of the current predicting is inaccurate when it is based on information obtained by using traditional approaches of accelerated life testing (ALT) where the data related to the degradation (failure) process differs substantially from the product’s degradation process during its service life under real world conditions. Through analysis of publications coupled with this author’s thinking the paper will consider the accuracy of currently used reliability prediction methods.

There are no standards that directly consider practical reliability testing technology (methods and equipment). This void needs to be filled. The SAE G-11 division has approved the development of six new standards to fill this void. This paper discusses these six standards: 1) Reliability Test-Glossary; 2) Reliability Testing-Strategy; 3) Reliability Testing-Procedures; 4) Reliability Testing-Equipment; 5) Reliability Testing-Statistical Criteria for Comparison of Reliability Testing Results and Field Results; 6) Reliability Testing-Collection, Calculation, and Statistical Analysis of Reliability Testing Data, Development Recommendations for Improvement of Test Subject Reliability, Durability, and Maintainability.

This paper reviews the basic negative trends in development of real-world simulation, accelerated testing, and efficiency prediction, including: - Testing in mobile engineering and negative factors leading to the slow improvement testing, especially reliability and durability testing - Trends in using physical & virtual technology of simulation attempting to field conditions - How this influence on inaccurate prediction of product quality, reliability durability, and other components of efficiency - How current vibration and corrosion simulation differ from real-world vibration & corrosion - Trends in increasing usage of virtual simulation and decreasing physical simulation - Negative aspects of trends in publications of testing autonomous vehicles without drivers.

This paper will discuss the problem of current trends in development accelerated testing. It will consider advantages (positive aspects) and disadvantage (negative aspects) of used accelerated testing. The author will detail the problems, using examples from SAE World Congresses, ASQ World Congresses (International Conferences), Reliability and Maintainability Symposiums (RAMS), and other world level meetings traditional approaches of accelerated testing, including ALT, HALT, HAAS, AA, and other were used. Using these traditional approaches leads to decreasing reliability, durability, and other performance components in real world. It will demonstrate that the basic reason of this situation is inaccurate simulation (physical and virtual) of real world conditions and product for different types of accelerated testing. Finally, the author will demonstrate how one could overcome this obstacle for improving accelerated testing.

This paper will discuss the problem of improving engineering culture for development reliability, quality, and testing of the automotive industry product. The basic approach relates to other industries too. The paper will consider why it is so important for engineers and managers, and how it relates to Systems Engineering, which simply stated is , a system which is an integrated composite of people, products, and processes that provides a capability to satisfy a stated need or objective. One of the basic problems of management is strategic thinking. Predicting is inaccurate when it is based on information obtained from using traditional approaches of accelerated life testing (ALT) data where the degradation (failure) processes differ substantially from the product’s degradation processes during service life under real world conditions.

This paper will discuss the problem with successful predicting of product performance (reliability, quality, durability, safety, recalls, profit, life cycle cost, and other interconnected technical and economic components of performance). The best component for analysing the performance situation during service life, including predicting, is recalls, because, first, recall accumulates the safety, reliability, durability, quality, profit, and total economic situation. And second, there is open official and objective information about the number of recalls from Government (National Highway Trafic Safety Administration and others), as well as companies-producers. Therefore, for analyzing the situation with the product performance, including predicting, this paper considers the situation with recalls. First, it will demonstrate how dangerous the current situation is with recalls, safety, reliability, and durability, especially in automotive, including in the USA for last thirty years.

This paper will discuss how accurate simulation of the real world conditions and ART/ADT (accelerated reliability/durability testing) technology is influencing accurate efficiency predicting as a final goal of product/process design, manufacturing, and development. The paper begins with the overview of current approaches of predicting the efficiency for a complete product and its components with an examples of life cycle costs (LCC), empirical reliability, physics-based reliability, their benefits and risks. It includes also the history of reliability prediction. As a result of the overview, it will be conclude that one cannot ensure that predicting results will not be misinterpreted or misapplied, even though all assumptions and rationale have been meticulously documented and clearly stated.

This paper considers the situation with implementation of positive trends in reliability and durability testing and prediction. Professionals often obtain reliability and durability results during research, design, and manufacturing that are essentially different from field results. The basic reason is: the advanced positive trends in reliability and durability testing, and prediction are not implemented enough. The paper considers also specifics of positive trends and how they are implemented in practice, including different ways of this implementation. The author will be demonstrating the practical real examples of implementing the above trends in different areas of engineering, physics, and mathematic in different countries. As a result, there is increasing effectiveness of the product, including reliability, durability, and safety, less complaints, recalls, and increasing profit.

In 2020 ELSEVIER published author’s book “Trends in Development Accelerated Testing for Automotive and Aerospace Engineering”. After being featured on CNN, Forbes, and Inc - BookAuthority, which identifies and rates the best books in the world, based on recommendations by thought leaders and experts, listed in among the best Aerospace Engineering books (#43) and best Automotive Engineering books (#14) of all time (see “100 Best Aerospace Engineering Books of All Times” and “52 Best Automotive Engineering Books of All Times”). This paper will discuss the developing trends in development used accelerated testing as result of the analysis current situation (2019 - 2021) on examples of automotive, aerospace, and other areas. In general, his finding indicate the technical progress in testing is moving much slower than that in design, manufacturing, and service areas of their products.

This paper reviews the current situation in the development of accelerated testing of automotive engineering, consisting of the four following areas: 1. Field testing of the natural product. 2. Additional technology of separate testing in the laboratory on the basis of physical simulation of separate field conditions using corresponding methods and equipment separately and conducting: safety testing, special programs of testing using digital simulation, special testing with changing certain parameters of environment, corrosion testing, etc. Both of the traditional testing developments above can be found in many magazines, journals, conferences, presentations, and proceedings. 3. Testing on the basis of digital (computer) simulation of product and/or field conditions. This area of testing has been developed in the last dozen years. Many articles and presentations were published during this time. 4.