Track 1 Session 7

10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The Life-Stress Slope: The Key to Accelerated Life Testing

The underlying relationship between the variation of the life of a component or system to changes in field loads/inputs is the fundamental basis for accelerated life testing. Unfortunately, much confusion surrounds the application and how to determine an appropriate life-stress curve for a particular test program. At times, this lack of detail becomes a key factor for poor outcomes from accelerated life testing programs. Through a combination of basic theory and case studies, this presentation will discuss the background in developing life-stress relationships for component, subsystem and system level testing. The inverse power law model will be highlighted as a general relationship that can be applied to many different stressors. Factors that affect prediction and consistency of experimental determination of life-stress will be examined. The case studies will highlight areas where sensitivity to the accuracy of life-stress relationships may be a concern.

Key Words: Accelerate Life Testing (ALT), Inverse Power Law, Life–Stress Relationship

Harland MacKenzie

Dana Corp.

Oakville, Ontario
Canada