REFERENCES

Accelerated Testing Research:

Warrendale, PA.

Special Publications (2000), Society of Automotive Engineers,

Chan, H . Anthony (2001). Accelerated Stress Testing Handbook:

Guide for Achieving
Quality Products, IEEE Press, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
Piscataway, NJ.
Dhillon, B.S. (1985). Quality Control, Reliability, and Engineering Design, Marcel Dekker,
New York.
Dodson, B.L., and M . D . Mulcahy (1992). Certified Reliability Engineer Examination
Guide, Quality Publishing, Tucson, A Z .
Dodson, B r y a n (1994).
Milwaukee, W I .

Weibull

Analysis

(with

Software),

Study

A S Q C Q u a l i t y Press,

Dovich, R.A. (1990). Reliability Statistics, ASQC Quality Press, Milwaukee, W I .

Environmental Stress Screening Handbook (2004), Thermotron Ltd., Holland, M I .
Fundamentals

of Accelerated Stress Testing (2004), Thermotron Ltd., Holland, M I .

Hobbs, Gregg K. (2000). Accelerated Reliability Engineering:

& Sons, New York.

HALT and HASS, John Wiley

Ireson, G.W., and C.F. Coombs (1996). Handbook of Reliability Engineering and Management,
McGraw-Hill, New York.
Kapur, K.C., and L.R. Lamberson (1977). Reliability in Engineering Design, John Wiley &
Sons, New York.
Kielpinski, T.J., and W. Nelson (1975). "Optimum Censored Accelerated Life Tests for Normal
and Lognormal Life Distributions," IEEE Transactions on Reliability, R-24:310-320,
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Piscataway, NJ.
Krishnamoorthi, K.S. (1992).
Milwaukee, W I .

Reliability

Methods for Engineers,

ASQ Quality Press,

Lall, Pradeep, Michael G. Pecht, and Edward B. Hakim, (1997). Influence of Temperature on
Microelectronics, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

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ACCELERATED TESTING

Lewis, E.E. (1995). Introduction to Reliability Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Meeker, W., and W. Nelson (1976). "Optimum Accelerated Life Tests for Weibull and Extreme
Value Distributions," IEEE Transactions on Reliability, R-25:20-24, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Piscataway, NJ.
Meeker, W.Q., and G.J. Hahn (1985). How to Plan an Accelerated Life TestSome
Guidelines, ASQ Quality Press, Milwaukee, W I .

Practical

Nelson, W. (1990). Accelerated Testing: Statistical Models, Test Plans and Data
John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Analysis,

NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/

handbook/.
O'Connor, Patrick D.T. (2002).
New York.

Practical

Reliability

Engineering,

John Wiley & Sons,

Shooman, M . L . (1990). Probabilistic Reliability: An Engineering Approach, Robert E. Krieger,

Malabar, FL.
Staudte, Robert G., and S.J. Sheather (1990). Robust Estimation and Testing, John Wiley &
Sons, New York.
Tobias, PA., and D.C. Trindade (1995). Applied Reliability, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New
York.
U.S. Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity (1999). Reliability Growth

Handbook.

U.S. Department of Defense. MIL-HDBK-189: Reliability Growth Management, Naval Publications and Forms Center, Philadelphia.
U.S. Department of Defense. M I L - H D B K - 7 8 1 : Reliability Test Methods, Plans and Environments for Engineering Development, Qualification and Production, Naval Publications
and Forms Center, Philadelphia.
U.S. Department of Defense. MIL-STD-810: Environmental Test Methods and
Guidelines, Naval Publications and Forms Center, Philadelphia.

Engineering

U.S. Department of Defense. MIL-STD-1635: Reliability Growth Testing, Naval Publications

and Forms Center, Philadelphia.
Walker, N . Edward (1998). The Design Analysis Handbook, Newnes, Boston.
Young, W.R. (1998). "Accelerated Temperature Pharmaceutical Product Stability Determinations," Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy.

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INDEX
Accelerated testing
ambiguities in, 17
models for, 141-180
plans for, 103-140
purpose of, 1-2
tolerances in, 5-8
see also Testing
Acceleration, linear, 141-142
Acceptance testing, 119-121, 208
Acronyms, list of, 243-245
Airflow, 189-190, 194-195,202
Altitude, 219
AMSAA (Army Material Systems Analysis
Activity) reliability growth model, 139-140
Analogic Corporation, ESS program results,
197
Arrhenius model, 149-157
Automobile resale value, 16

Bathtub curve, 182

Bayes' theorem, 68-71
Bayesian testing, 110-118
determining parameters for, 113-115
Weibull distribution in, 110-115
Bendix Corporation, ESS program results, 197
Bias, lack of, 73
Binomial distribution, 5658
Bogey testing, 99, 109
Burn-in testing, 185, 191
optimizing, 202-204

Case histories, 197-198

Censored data, 20, 53
Center of gravity, 29
Central limit theorem, 40
Chamber, 201, 213

Change control, 12
Characteristic life, 34
Chemical reactions, 149
Chi-square distribution, 62-64
Chi-square significance, 224-225r
Coffin-Mason model, 170-171
Combined environmental screening, 192-193
Combined environmental testing, 218
Computer control, 202
Concept validation, 10-11
Condensation, 213
Confidence intervals
nonparametric, 99, 101
for normal distribution, 86-87
for Weibull distribution, 93-94
Confidence limits, 53
Consistency, 73
Continuous modeling distributions, 33-54
Continuous variables, 20-21
Corrosion, 219
Cumulative density function
hypergeometric, 58
standard normal, 45
Cumulative distribution function, 25-27
binomial, 57
exponential, 80
F-, 67
lognormal, 47
normal, 89
Poisson, 55, 229f
in probability plotting, 74, 80
standard normal, 222-223f
Weibull, 37, 97
Cumulative hazard function, 74
exponential, 79
normal, in hazard plotting, 87
Weibull, 95
Customer requirements, understanding, 9-10

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Cyclic testing, 215-216

Defect exposure tests, 208

Defect rate, manufacturing, 6
Degradation testing models, 171-177
Degrees of freedom, 164
Design life, determining, 2-5
Design validation, 11
Development tests, 1
Discrete modeling distributions, 55-61
identifying correct distribution, 61, 62/
Discrete variables, 21
Distributions
binomial, 56-58
chi-square, 62-64
continuous modeling, 33-54
discrete modeling, 55-61
identifying correct distribution, 6162/
exponential, 50-54
parameter estimation for, 74-75
reliability function with acceleration
factor, 142r
in sequential testing, 125-126
F-distribution, 66-68
geometric, 60-61
hypergeometric, 58-60
lognormal, 46-50
parameter estimation for, 91
reliability function with acceleration
factor, 142r
normal, 39-46
hazard plotting for, 87-89
maximum likelihood estimation for,
84-87
parameter estimation for, 83-91
probability plotting for, 89-91
reliability function with acceleration
factor, 142/
Poisson, 55-56
posterior, 68
prior, 68
sampling, 61-68
shapes of, comparing, 142-144
summary of, 71
f-distribution, 64-66
Weibull, 33-39
Bayesian, in sequential testing, 126-131

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in Bayesian testing, 110-115

hazard plotting for, 95-96
maximum likelihood estimation for,
92-94
parameter estimation for 92-99
probability plotting for, 97-99
reliability function with acceleration
factor, 142?
Duane reliability growth model, 136-138
Dust, 219
Dynamic screens, 195-196

Electrical stress, 191, 218

Electrodynamic shakers, 216, 217
Electronic equipment, 184-185
estimating shape parameter for, 112-113
HALT for, 179
reliability standards for, 149
Elephant tests, 179
Engineering Department, example response
from, 12
Environment, test, 207-208
Environmental stress, types of, 187-193
Environmental stress screening (ESS),
181-205
case histories, 197-198
definition of, 184
determining screening level, 199-200
equipment for, 200-202
evolution of, 184-186
failure versus production level, 200/
implementing a program, 198-200
misconceptions about, 186-187
monitoring, 200
screen complexity levels, 195-196
screen types, 193/
summary of, 205
Equipment
for environmental stress screening, 200-202
test methods and applications, 207-219
Estimation, of parameters, 73-102
Exercised screens, 196
Expectation, 29-30
Expected number of trials, 124-125
Explosive atmosphere, 219
Exponential distribution, 50-54
parameter estimation for, 74-75

INDEX
Exponential distribution (cont.)
reliability function with acceleration factor,
142?
in sequential testing, 125-126
Eyring model, 157-168

F-distribution, 66-68
F significance, 226-227?
Failure analysis, 196
Failure costs, 13
Failure modes, detection of, 135
Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), 10
Failure rate, 203
Failure rate analysis and corrective actions system (FRACAS), 10
Failure-truncated testing, 113-114
Feedback loop, for reliability growth, 135-136
Field correlation, 142-148
Field reliability, example performance, 14?
Final demonstration, 135
Finance Department, example response from,
12
Financial considerations, 9-17
Fixturing, 202
Frequency domain, 214-215
Full functional screens, 196
Fungus, 219

Gamma function, 31 n, 62, 221?

Geometric distribution, 60-61
Glossary, 233-242

Hard failures, 195

Hazard function, 27-29
exponential, 51-52
for linear acceleration, 141
lognormal, 49-50
normal, 45, 46/
Weibull, 36
Hazard plotting, 74, 79, 80/
for normal distribution, 87-89
for Weibull distribution, 95-96
Hewlett-Packard, ESS program results,
197-198

Hidden reliability costs, 15

High-temperature burn-in, 191
Highly accelerated life testing (HALT),
179-180
Highly accelerated stress screen (HASS),
179-180
Histogram, example, 2 1 /
Hydraulic testing, 216-217
Hypergeometric distribution, 58-60

Icing, 219
Infancy failure, 182, 185
Infant mortality period, 36
Instantaneous failure rate, 27
Institute of Environmental Sciences, 186
Instrumentation, 202
Intelligent design, 10
Interconnects, 202

Key personnel, 198-199

Kurtosis, 30

Latent defects, 182

Life cycle patterns, 182
Likelihood function, 74
Likelihood ratio, 119
Linear acceleration, 141-142
Lineardegradation, 172
Load cycles, randomization of, 131-134
Local information matrix, 74
Location parameter, 34,49
Lognormal distribution, 46-50
parameter estimation for, 91
reliability function with acceleration factor,
142?
Loose cargo testing, 215
Low-temperature screen, 192

Manufacturing, 11-12
Manufacturing defect rate, 6-7
Manufacturing Department, example response
from, 12
Material handling, 202

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ACCELERATED TESTING

Maximum likelihood estimation, 73-79

for normal distribution, 84-87
for Weibull distribution, 92-94
Mean, 29
of binomial distribution, 57
of exponential distribution, 53
of geometric distribution, 60
of hypergeometric function, 58
of lognormal distribution, 49
of normal distribution, 83
of /-distribution, 64
of Weibull distribution, 37, 38/
Mean time to fail, 39, 103, 104/
Mechanical crack growth model, 170-171
Mechanical shock, 217-218
Mechanical tools, 215
Military standards, 185
Mission profile testing, 185
Models
accelerated testing, 141-180
AMSAA reliability growth, 139-140
Arrhenius, 149-157
Coffin-Mason, 170-171
degradation testing, 171-177
Duane reliability growth, 136-138
elephant test, 179
Eyring, 157-168
field correlation, 142-148
HALT and HASS, 179-180
linear acceleration, 141-142
mechanical crack growth, 170-171
qualitative test, 176-180
reliability growth, 136-140
step-stress testing, 177-178
voltage, 169-170
Modified order of failure, 81
Moisture, wind, and rain, 219
Monitored screens, 196
Multiple censoring, 20

Nonparametric confidence intervals, 99, 101

Normal distribution, 39-46
hazard plotting for, 87-89
maximum likelihood estimation for, 84-87
parameter estimation for, 83-91
probability plotting for, 89-91

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reliability function with acceleration factor,

142/

Objective, environmental stress screening, 198

Operating characteristic (OC) curve, 122-124

Parameter estimation, 73-102

Pass-fail testing, 119-124
Pneumatic actuators, 215-216
Poisson cumulative distribution function, 229/
Poisson distribution, 55-56
Posterior distribution, 68
Power cycling, 191
Power spectral density, 215
Power supplies, 202
Prior distribution, 68
Probability, fundamentals of, 19-31
Probability density function, 21-25
binomial, 56-57
chi-square, 63
exponential, 50-51, 75
F-, 66, 67/
geometric, 60
hypergeometric, 58
for linear acceleration, 141
lognormal, 47, 91
normal, 83
Poisson, 55
posterior, 68
prior, 68
standard normal, 40, 4 1 /
/-, 64, 65/
Weibull, 33, 92
Probability plotting, 74, 80-83
for normal distribution, 89-91
for Weibull distribution, 97-99
Product electronics, 202
Product failure modes, 181
Product reliability equation, 181-183
Profile, 201

Qualification tests, 208

Qualitative tests, 176-180
Quality assurance tests, 1

INDEX
Random sampling, 19-21
Random vibration, 190-191, 193, 194, 214
Randomization of load cycles, 131-134
Reaction rate, 149
Real world environment, defining, 209-211
Reliability confidence limits, 81
Reliability costs, hidden, 15
Reliability demonstration sample sizes, 2/
Reliability function, 27
with acceleration factor, 142/
exponential, 51
for linear acceleration, 141
lognormal, 47
Weibull, 36
Reliability growth, 134-140
models for, 136-140
process for, 135-136
Reliability program
elements of, 9-17
example scores, 13/
financial considerations for, 9-17
Reliability testing, 103

Sample size
determining, 5
effect of, 105-109
effect on test duration, 115-118
reliability demonstration, 2/
Sampling, 19-21
Sampling distributions, 61-68
Scale parameter, 34
Screens
dynamic, 195-196
exercised, 196
full functional, 196
monitored, 196
static, 195
Second moment-generating function, 29
Sequential testing, 119-131
Bayesian Weibull distribution in, 126-131
exponential distribution in, 125-126
Shape, of distributions, comparing, 142-144
Shape parameter, 33
determining value of, 118
effect of, 110-112
estimating, 112-113
Shipping and handling, 207, 209, 211

Shock response spectra, 217

Simulation testing, 208-211
Sine vibration
fixed frequency, 192
swept frequency, 192
Sinusoidal input, 211-212, 214
Skewness, 30
Slip table, 216
Soft failures, 195
Standard deviation, of normal distribution, 84
Standard normal cumulative density function,
45
Standard normal cumulative distribution function, 47,222-223/
Standard normal probability density function,
40,41/
Static screens, 195
Statistical sampling, 5
Steady state thermal testing, 212-213
Step-stress testing, 177-178
Stimulation testing, 211-212
Storage, 207, 209,210-211
Stress, types of, 212-219
Stress screening, environmental (ESS),
181-205
Stress uniformity, 194
Submersion, 219
Sufficiency, 73
Suppliers, in environmental stress screening,
198
Surfaced problems, 135

/ Significance, 228
/-Distribution, 64-66
Temperature cycling, 185, 187-190, 213
advantages of, 193-195
Temperature testing, 212-214
Test duration, 114-115
effect of sample size on, 115-118
Testing
acceptance, 119-121, 208
Bayesian, 110-118
determining parameters, 113-115
Weibull distribution in, 110-115
bogey, 99, 109
burn-in, 185, 191
optimizing, 202-204

ACCELERATED TESTING

Testing (cont.)
combined environmental, 218
cyclic, 215-216
defect exposure, 208
development, 1
electrical stress, 218
electrodynamic, 216, 217
equipment methods and applications,
207-219
failure-truncated, 113-114
hydraulic, 216-217
loose cargo, 215
mechanical, 215
mechanical shock, 217-218
mission profile, 185
pass-fail, 119-124
pneumatic, 215-216
qualification, 208
quality assurance, 1
sequential, 119-131
Bayesian Weibull distribution in,
126-131
exponential distribution in, 125-126
simulation, 208-211
stimulation, 211-212
temperature, 212-214
thermal, steady state, 212-213
time-truncated, 114
vibration, 185, 190-191, 192, 214-218
zero-failure, 109-118
guidelines for, 115-118
see also Accelerated testing
Thermal expansion, 212
Thermal shock, 192, 213-214
Time domain, 214-215
Time history pulse, 217
Time-truncated testing, 114
Tolerances
determining, 5-8
number of combinations, 6/
worst-case, 5-8
Transition temperature of metals, 212
Type I error, 106-109
Type I I error, 106, 109

U.S. government documents, 231-232

Ultraviolet, 219
Unforeseen deficiencies, 134-135
Unit, uniform random number generation,
131-134
User profiles, 2-4

Variance, 29
of binomial distribution, 57
of estimates, 74
of exponential distribution, 51
of geometric distribution, 60
of hypergeometric function, 58
of lognormal distribution, 49
minimum, 73
of /-distribution, 64
of Weibull distribution, 37, 38/, 93
Vibration testing, 185, 190-191, 192, 214-218
Voltage margining, 191
Voltage models, 169-170

Wearout period, 36
Weibull distribution, 33-39
Bayesian, in sequential testing, 126-131
in Bayesian testing, 110-115
hazard plotting for, 95-96
maximum likelihood estimation for, 92-94
parameter estimation for 92-99
probability plotting for, 97-99
reliability function with acceleration factor,
142/

Zero-failure testing, 109-118

guidelines for, 115-118

ABOUT T H E AUTHORS
Bryan Dodson is the Director of Reliability Engineering
at Visteon in Dearborn, Michigan. He formerly was the
Manager of Reliability Engineering and Quality Information Systems for Continental Teves, Brake and Chassis,
North America. Prior to joining Continental Teves,
Dr. Dodson held the positions of Total Quality Management (TQM) Leader and Reliability Leader at Alcoa and
the position of Industrial Engineer at Morton Thiokol.
Dr. Dodson has authored seven books and five commercial software programs, including the Reliability
Engineering Handbook, Weibull Analysis: with Software,
and Certified Reliability Engineer Examination Study
Guide. He also is the author of the International Quality
Federation's Six Sigma certification exam.
Dr. Dodson holds a B.S. in petroleum engineering, an
M.S. in industrial engineering, an M.B.A., and a Doctor of Business Administration. In addition,
he is a Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), a Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE), a Six Sigma
Master Black Belt, and a licensed Professional Engineer in Michigan and Indiana.

Harry Schwab has almost forty years of experience as an

engineer, specializing in structural dynamics and vibrations. He holds a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering from
the Georgia Institute of Technology, an M.S. in Engineering Mechanics from the University of MissouriRolla,
and an M.B.A. from the Florida Institute of Technology.
Mr. Schwab has worked in the aerospace, automotive, and
commercial industries. The products with which he has
been involved include automobiles, trucks, railroad freight
cars, aircraft, boats, and guided missiles. He has many
years of experience in working with random vibrations
and developed a method for deriving laboratory testing

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ACCELERATED TESTING

environments from non-stationary data. This technique can be used to accurately simulate realworld environments while greatly decreasing test time.
Mr. Schwab has authored several technical papers for SAE International and the Institute of
Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST), as well as for other technical organizations
and publications. These cover the fields of vibration testing and analysis. He developed innovative testing techniques for both the aerospace and automotive industries, and he is a registered
Professional Engineer in Missouri and Florida.