Introduction to Quantitative Accelerated Life Testing: Applications, Benefits and Drawbacks

Accelerated testing can be divided into two areas: qualitative accelerated testing and quantitative accelerated life testing. In qualitative accelerated testing, the engineer is mostly interested in identifying failures and failure modes without attempting to make any predictions as to the product's life under normal use conditions. In quantitative accelerated life testing (QALT), the engineer is interested in predicting the life characteristics of the product (such as MTTF, B10 life, etc.) at normal use conditions from data obtained in an accelerated life test. This tutorial introduces the basic principles and concepts behind quantitative accelerated life testing data analysis.

Key Words: Accelerated Testing, QALT, Life vs. Stress

 

Pantelis Vassiliou ReliaSoft Corporation