Advanced Accelerated Testing

Methods for accelerating product development tests are presented with a focus on practical techniques that result in meaningful test profiles and shorter development cycles.  After a brief introduction to general concepts and assumptions, the course shifts to several qualitative and quantitative methods which reveal failure mode(s) of concern and allow for reliability estimates at the equivalent of one life in the field.

This training provides a deeper focus on physics of failure and the theoretical and practical application of accelerated testing models.  A brief primer on ALTA software (ReliaSoft) is presented as a method to estimate reliability at customer use conditions based on accelerated test results.

Prerequisite: 

Recent (2 yrs.) completion of Introduction to Reliability Engineering & Accelerated Testing or an understanding of reliability testing principles and experience using Weibull++ software for analyzing test or field data.

 Topics Addressed:

• General guidelines and assumptions
• Quantitative vs Qualitative approaches
• Time compression
• Acceleration Factor
• Sudden Death testing
• ALT models: Inverse Power, Coffin Manson, Norris-Landzberg, Arrhenius, Eyring
• Power Temp Cycling (PTC)
• Application of Damage
• Vibration testing
• Miner’s Rule
• ALTA primer (ReliaSoft)
• Degradation testing
• Cumulative Damage
• Proportional Overstress Testing (MEOST)
• Environmental Stress Screening
• HALT

Target Audience:

Reliability engineers, validation engineers, product development engineers, test engineers, and managers of these disciplines.

Delivery Method:

The training is designed to be interactive and conversational and delivered at the client’s location*.  A number of in-class exercises are included to practice and reinforce the concepts.   Bound training materials are provided to each class participant.  Weibull++ software including ALTA Pro will be utilized for some of the exercises; Demo licenses are provided if needed.

*  An option for remote delivery is available

 Expected Outcomes: 

At the conclusion of this training, class participants will be able to:

• Recognize the applications and limitations of accelerated testing
• Understand the most common methods to quantitatively and qualitatively accelerate a test
• Use Damage calculations to accelerate an existing test
• Design a Power Temp Cycling (PTC) test profile
• Design a basic ALTA test plan including sample sizes and stress levels
• Create a Proportional Overstress Test
• Design a Sudden Death Test
• Select an appropriate acceleration methodology for various test scenarios