Arab Academy for Science and Technology

Reliability Engineering
Electric Cooling Fan Reliability Test
Semester Project

Mohamed Ahmed Ihab Ismail

3/31/2009

mohd.ihab@gmail.com

02100771

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Fan Technical Specification ........................................................................................................................ 5 AC Standard Specifications ........................................................................................................................ 6 Installation Method: .............................................................................................................................. 6 Impedance System:................................................................................................................................ 6 Thermal Protection System: .................................................................................................................. 6 DC Standard Specifications ........................................................................................................................ 7 Protection .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Research Plan ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Definition of Fan Failure ............................................................................................................................. 7 Failure Modes ............................................................................................................................................ 8 Arrhenius Weibull Model: .......................................................................................................................... 9 Reliable Life ................................................................................................................................................ 9 Reliability Specifications........................................................................................................................... 10 The Importance Of Lubrication ................................................................................................................ 10 Acoustic Noise Measurement .................................................................................................................. 10 Fan Life And Reliability ............................................................................................................................. 11 Fan Life Testing .................................................................................................................................... 11 Reliability Metrics And Life Estimate ....................................................................................................... 11 Accelerated Fan Life Testing And Modeling ............................................................................................. 14 An Accelerated Supplier Qualification Matrix .......................................................................................... 16 Material Review and Verification ........................................................................................................ 17 HALT Test and Margin Test .................................................................................................................. 17 Accelerated Life Testing ....................................................................................................................... 17 Fan Verification Tests........................................................................................................................... 18 Manufacturing Testing and Quality Control ........................................................................................ 18 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 19 References .................................................................................................................................................... 20 Sources ......................................................................................................................................................... 20 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................................... 21 Appendix B.................................................................................................................................................... 24 Page 2 of 25

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Fan Failures in a Sample Product ..................................................................................................... 16 Table 2 Comparison Between the Life time of Different Bearings ............................................................... 18

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 A rendered Drawing produced by solidworks for the fan ................................................................ 5 Figure 2 acoustic noise measurement .......................................................................................................... 10

LIST OF CHARTS
Chart 1 Chart representing Different Modes for fan failure........................................................................... 8 Chart 2 Relation Between Temprature And Fan Life .................................................................................... 14

LIST OF EQUATIONS
Equation 1 ...................................................................................................................................................... 9 Equation 2 ...................................................................................................................................................... 9 Equation 3 ...................................................................................................................................................... 9 Equation 4 .................................................................................................................................................... 13 Equation 5 .................................................................................................................................................... 13 Equation 6 .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Equation 7 .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Equation 8 .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Equation 9 .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Equation 10 .................................................................................................................................................. 15 Equation 11 .................................................................................................................................................. 15 Page 3 of 25

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AC AMD CFM CMR dB DC HALT HTOL ISO JIS lb mA MTBF MTTF ORT PCB RPM

Alternating Current Air Moving Devices Unit for Cubic Feet per Minute Cycled Moisture Resistance Unit for decibel Direct Current Highly Accelerated Life Test High Temp Operating Life International Organization for Standardization Japanese Industrial Standard Unit for Pound Unit for Milli Ampere Mean Time Between Failure Mean Time To Failure Ongoing Reliability Testing Printed Circuit Board Revolutions Per minute

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INTRODUCTION
Cooling fans are one of the most critical parts in system thermal solution of most electronic products. Since a fan assembly includes both electronic and mechanical parts, it can fail electronically, mechanically, or both. The electronic parts include control circuitry, motor and its electronic components. The mechanical parts of a fan include bearing, lubricant, shaft, fan blades or propeller/impeller, and fan housing. A fan can have either hard failures in which the fan is non-functional or soft failures (parametric failures) such as slower RPM, increased input current, or higher noise level. To have a fully understanding of fan reliability, all possible failure mechanisms and failure modes should be taken into account. Cooling fans have been a major failure contributor to many electronic systems. Although there are quite a few fan vendors in the market, some of the failure mechanism and failure modes have not been fully understood either by the vendors or by end users. Different vendors are using different failure criteria and different reliability metrics in their products. Most vendors have been doing so-called accelerated life testing, however, some of these testing methodologies have been misused and the modeling methods are various from vendor to vendor. This paper will address the failure criteria and reliability metrics of cooling fans. The accelerated life testing and modeling methods will be discussed and a comprehensive qualification method will be proposed.

FAN TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

Keeping a computer cooled is the best way to increase its efficiency and power. A high-airflow fan can ensure that your computer runs smoothly and is kept at a constantly lower temperature than with normal fans. High airflow circulates hot air around the case and exhausts it out the back.

FIGURE 1 A RENDERED DRAWING PRODUCED BY SOLIDWORKS FOR THE FAN

Product Type: Cooling Fan Fan Speed: 2600 rpm Page 5 of 25

Air Flow: 50.2 CFM Noise Levels: 33 dB Dimensions: 3.62" x 3.62" x 0.98" or 7.0x5.5x1.0 Weight: 0.24 lb Ball Bearing in the cooling fan provides increased airflow, reliability and longer life

AC STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS
Operating Voltage: Noise: 10% of rated voltage Measured at rated voltage, 1 meter distance in an Anechoic chamber, background noise 16dBA Max. JIS C0040 Amplitude 1.5mm, Frequency 10 - 55Hz, 1 hr per axis: X, Z, Y JIS C0041 Acceleration 100 G, Duration 6ms per axis: X, Z, Y E Class (UL: Class A) Shaded Pole Induction Motor/capacitor - run induction motor 100 Mohm Min. @ DC 500V AC1800V for 3 sec. (< 0.5mA allowable, between lead and frame)

Vibration Test: Shock Test: Insulation Class: Motor Structure: Insulation Resistance: Dielectric Withstand Voltage:

INSTALLATION METHOD:
For either the suction or exhaust type, horizontal, vertical or inclined installation can be selected.

PROTECTION:
Motor burnout is prevented by the impedence system or thermal protection system, thus safety is always insured.

IMPEDANCE SYSTEM:
The fixed impedance of the coil keeps the specified temperature below that specified by the insulation class of the motor coil.

THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM:

The coil includes a bimetallic strip to control the connection switch. This operates to keep the temperature below the specified insulation class.

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DC STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS
Vibration Test: Shock Test: JIS C0040 Amplitude 1.5mm, Frequency 10 - 55Hz, 1 hr per axis: X, Z, Y JIS C0041 Acceleration 981 m/s2, Duration 6ms per axis: X, Z, Y Note: 1004KL, 1204KL, 1404KL, 1604KL, 1606KL, 1608KL, 2004KL, 2106KL, 2404KL, BM4515, BM5115, BM5125 and BM 6015 Series: Acceleration 500 m/s2, Duration 11ms per axis: X, Y, Z Measured at rated voltage, 1 meter distance in an Anechoic chamber, back ground noise 16dBA Max. E Class (UL: Class A) Brushless Motor (BLDC) 10 Mohm Min. @ DC 500V AC700V for 1 sec. (< 0.5mA allowable, between lead and frame)

Noise:

Insulation Class: Motor Structure: Insulation Resistance: Dielectric Withstand Voltage:

I NSTALLATION M ETHOD
For either the suction or exhaust type, horizontal, vertical or inclined installation can be selected.

PROTECTION
Motor burnout is prevented by locked rotor protection/automatic restart and polarity, thus safety is always insured.

RESEARCH PLAN
Throughout the case study, there will be a concise plan which would be followed in the document, the following points discuss them in general 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Fan Failure definition. Identification of failure modes and parameters. Calculations concerning life stress relation and life estimation. Methods of parameters measurement. Acceptable and specification limits. Importance of maintenance. Accelerated fan life reliability testing.

DEFINITION OF FAN FAILURE

Fans may fail in several ways and failure may be defined differently depending upon the applications. Fan failures typically include: Page 7 of 25

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Excessive vibration Noise Frictional contact of the propeller Reduction in rotational speed Locked rotor Failure to start

It is worth mentioning that no AMD stops moving air because of increased noise. The increased noise is a result of a bearing failure and the bearing failure is usually caused by the loss of lubricant, which leads to wear in the bearing. In addition, the capacitor may fail in AC AMDs and the electronics may contribute to early failures in DC AMDs. Failure criteria in life tests can also include a change in coast-down time or start time to reach full speed. Problems with coil insulation breakdown or failures of that type can be classified as workmanship problems or an out-of-control manufacturing process.

FAILURE MODES
The major failure modes of fan failures include mechanical failures, electrical failures, failures due to installation, acoustic failures, failures due to poor serviceability, and poor cooling performance failures. From systems point of view, fan speed control or monitoring system could also cause a thermal system to fail. Table 1 listed the major fan failure modes/causes and the number of failures during first article testing and field service based on a sample product . Chart-1 is the pareto of the fan failures. From Table-1 and Chart-1, it is seen that almost half of the failures are caused by poor quality or poor workmanship, such as wiring errors, damaged PCB, or installation related failures. In mechanical failures, bearing failure is the top contributor. In electrical failures, electrical overstress is the main cause. Based on the sample data collected, mechanical failures, electrical failures, and installation failures are the top three contributors, in which about half of the failures were caught during first article testing.

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Mechanical Failure Electrical Failure Fan installation Acoustic Failure Serviceability Under performance

CHART 1 CHART REPRESENTING DIFFERENT MODES FOR FAN FAILURE.

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ARRHENIUS WEIBULL MODEL:

Life Stress Relation: The Arrhenius life-stress relationship is given by:

EQUATION 1

Where: L represents a quantifiable life measure, which is the scale parameter or characteristic life of the Weibull Distribution. V represents the stress level (formulated for temperature and temperature values in absolute units, i.e. degrees Kelvin or degrees Rankine) C is one of the model parameters to be determined (C > 0 ). B is another model parameter to be determined. Mean Life or MTTF: Mean Time To Failure, of the Arrhenius-Weibull relationship is givenby:

EQUATION 2

RELIABLE LIFE
The Arrhenius Weibull Distribution model predicts the length of time at which a defined percentage of a product population will still be operating without failing to meet pre-set criteria. For cooling fans, this is normally characterized as L10 life expectancy, or the time at which 10% of a population will have failed and 90% of a population will continue to operate within specifications. For the Arrhenius-Weibull relationship, the reliable life, TR, of a unit for a specified reliability and starting the mission at age zero is given by:

EQUATION 3

This is the life for which the unit will function successfully with a reliability of R(TR). If R (TR) = 0.90 then TR = 90% reliability or 10% unreliability (L10) or the life by which 90% of the units will survive. Parametric failure modes are used, which could be defined as the condition at which a performance parameter fails to meet pre-set criteria, to record failures during accelerated life testing. This produces a more accurate prediction of field reliability than methods which use only non-operating failure modes to record failures.

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RELIABILITY SPECIFICATIONS
The reliability of fan can be specified in several ways but the most meaningful approach is to take it as the probability that a unit will not fail during a defined period under specified operating and ambient conditions. For example, a good quality fan may have a service life of 80,000 hours under continuous operation at 40C ambient. The L10 specification states that less than 10% of a statistically significant number of fans should fail during 80,000 hours continuous operation at 40C. In most equipment, fans operate at well below 40C for most of their lives, so their actual reliability will normally be much higher. The L10 figure does, however, give a excellent comparative indication of the fan's reliability. They should not be confused with the sometimes much higher lifetime figures based on less stringent criteria which can give a completely different result.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LUBRICATION

It is an accepted fact that most fan failures are caused by wear of the bearing systems so it is hardly surprising that ball bearings fans, particularly those using modern using grooved ball bearings, have long been the favored solution. However, even the high apparent reliability of ball beatings can be misleading. They can for example, have a long calculated, modified nominal service life, according to ISO 281 standards, of several hundred thousand hours, but these values are usually not achieved in practice even in the most favorable conditions, mainly because the bearings fail earlier due to failure of their lubricant. In fact, the single most important factor affecting the reliability of a fan is the composition and reliability of the lubrication system and not the fatigue life of the bearing itself. This equally applies to DC fans where the older brushed commutation, once a common source of fan failure, has now been replaced by all solid-state commutation using Hall-effect sensors with much higher reliability.

ACOUSTIC NOISE MEASUREMENT

Noise measurements are performed in an Anechoic Chamber with less than 16 dBA background noise in compliance with JIS C 9603 standards. Testing is in accordance with ISO 7779 and published declared values are in accordance with ISO 9296. For DC Fans, the microphone is placed 1 m from inlet side and for the AC Fans 1 m from the side as in figure 2.

FIGURE 2 ACOUSTIC NOISE MEASUREMENT

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FAN LIFE AND RELIABILITY

FAN LIFE TESTING
Life expectancy of a cooling fan is a critical element in thermal design. Parametric failure modes are used during life testing to calculate for life expectancy. Speed (RPM) and Current (mA) failures include both hard failures (where the fan is non-functional) and parametric failures. These parametric failures are defined as 15% decrease in RPM and an increase in mA of 15%. Including parametric failure modes leads to a more conservative L-10 and MTTF reporting standard than those methods that measure life performance using only hard failures. The benefit to the customer is a fan that sets the quality and reliability standard for the cooling industry. Fan life and reliability should be evaluated during the design phase using accelerated life testing in conjunction with ORT (Ongoing Reliability Testing). Accelerated life testing is used to compress the amount of time required to conduct life testing. Development testing occurs early in the product design, prior to product release. It is vital to characterize the reliability of the product in the initial stages of design to allow for improvements and to meet the reliability specifications prior to release to manufacturing. Once the design has been through design verification testing and is turned over to manufacturing, ORT is conducted. For some models, ORT evaluation has continued beyond 10 years. The value of ORT is a continued refinement of the accuracy of the accelerated life testing and constant review of the design of the fan. This continued process improvement allows for ongoing evaluation and increase in fan life and reliability. Under accelerated life testing fans are tested at extreme environmental conditions, with temperature stress factors above standard operating levels. In order to gather meaningful data within a reasonable time frame, the stress factors must be accelerated to simulate different operating environments. High temperature stress is the most common stress factor used for these purposes. Proper understanding of accelerating stresses and design limits are necessary to implement a meaningful accelerated reliability test. The Arrhenius model are used for determining acceleration factors (AF) during life testing. This is the most commonly used model in accelerated life testing where thermal stress is the primary factor affecting life. Life test data gathered from different types of fans and blowers lends to highly accurate statistical analysis. This data can produce very detailed information about the behavior of the product for reliability and prediction of fan performance in the field. The Weibull Distribution is a typical method employed, for which 10% of a population will have failed and 90% of a population will continue to operate within specifications.

RELIABILITY METRICS AND LIFE ESTIMATE

Reliability is the probability that a product performs its defined function without failure for a specified period of time under specified use conditions. A fan failure (or fan assembly failure) can be defined either

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from system viewpoint or from the fan itself point of view. From the system point of view, a fan failure could be defined as: A fan cannot provide enough cooling for the system A fan is not functional A fan is running slower than its designed specification RPM, such as 60% of the designed RPM The monitoring circuitry/manageability firmware has detected a fan is out of specification.

It is seen that from the system point of view, a fan failure has to be reported through the monitoring circuitry/firmware to the system. A failure could either be failure in the monitoring circuitry, control circuitry, or firmware bugs or the fan hard failure itself. Since these parts, i.e., control circuitry, monitoring/detection circuitry, firmware, and fan itself, constitute a reliability-wise series system, electronic failures in this system could be as important as the real fan failures. However, the failure phenomena and failure distribution could be quite different for these two kinds of failures. Different vendors use different definitions for a fan failure. The most often used fan failure definitions are: A fan is not functional (fail to start, locked rotor, rubbing or hitting or cracking of the propeller, excessive vibration, etc.) RPM decreased by 15% (10% to 30% decrease from initial depending on vendors) Input current increased by 15% from nominal or maximum (some defined as 20% increase from nominal or greater than maximum) Fan noise level increased by 5 dB (3 dB of some vendors), A-weighted.

Of course, some other failures are related to poor workmanship or damages in installation or service, e.g., wiring errors, loose cabling, connector crimping, or handling damages to fan components. These failures tend to occur in the very early stage of fan operations, which is often called infant mortality failures. To better understand the reliability and useful life of a fan, it is best to separate electronic failures from mechanical wear-out failures. Generally speaking, most electronic failures are random failures that are caused by defective electronic components if these components are used correctly. The failure rate of the random failures generally is very low for most modern electronic components. However, if a circuitry design is faulty or components are misused in a design, the failure rate of misused electronic components could be high and could cause class problems in the field. Compared to mechanical wear-out failures, such as bearing wear-out, electronic failures tend to occur in the earlier stage of operation, most likely in the first 1 to 3 years. The best way to avoid electronic failures is to do a thorough design review to make sure the circuitry design is correct, derating guidelines are followed, and correct components are used. HALT (highly accelerated life test) testing would also be helpful to discover design defects and wrongful components in early development. Mechanical failures of fan could include bearing failures, thermal distortion, and impeller stress cracking. Bearing failure is the major failure mechanism in most fans and is the failure mechanism used to define the service life of fans.

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However, the bearing life is heavily dependent on retention of its lubricant. The reliability and service life of a fan are heavily dependent on the composition and reliability of the lubrication system and not the fatigue life of the bearing itself. Therefore, it is misleading to quote the bearing fatigue life (such as bearing load rating life based on ISO 281 standard) as the fan service life. Most bearing failures are caused by the loss of lubricant, which leads to wear in the bearing. The failure criteria of bearing failure include increased noise, slower RPM, or the lubricant level drops to 50% (or 60%) of its capacity. The two most often used metrics for fan life are MTTF (Mean Time To Failure) and L10 life (the time point at which 10% of the fans will fail). In practice, MTTF is often confused with MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures). MTBF is best used for repairable items and for constant failure rate situation. Since bearing failure is wear-out failure and its failure rate will increase with time, MTBF should not be used. For bearing failures, the exponential distribution is not applicable. A Weibull distribution with shape parameter, >1.0, should be used. The question is: what value should be used for the estimation of fan life? Different vendors have used different values of beta to predict a fans life, which ranges from 1.1 to 4.9. Some vendors use =1.1 for their fans life estimation (L10), which is the value used for bearing fatigue life modeling (both ball and roller bearings). As discussed in previous paragraph, the fan bearing system wear-out and life are mainly determined by its lubricant system not by bearing fatigue life itself. The practice that uses bearing fatigue life as a fans service life is not correct. The best way and right way to have a correct value is to test some fan samples to failure and fit the time-to-failure data to a Weibull distribution and to get the estimated parameter from the failure distribution. In one test, a vendors failure data were fitted into a Weibull distribution and the value was estimated as 4.9 and the characteristic life was predicted as 9,780 hours. Most vendors use values from 2.5 to 3.5 based on their test data or experience. For example, NMB used a =2.50 in their life estimation based on test data and Panasonic used =3.25 for the wear-out of the Hydrowave bearings from oil depletion . Depending on the lubricant type and quality, the wear-out characteristics of the lubricant could be different. In the case without testing data, I would recommend to use =3.0 as a default value for lubricant wear-out failures in fans. The MTTF of a two-parameter Weibull distribution can be derived as:

)
EQUATION 4

Where, is the characteristic life at which 63.2% of total products will fail and

) is the Gamma

function. We see that only when =1.0 (exponential distribution), the MTTF is equal to the characteristic life, i.e., 63.2% failure life. When is larger (greater than 3.0), the MTTF will approach to 50% life. In many vendors document, MTTF is always treated as 63.2% life regardless of the value. It is not correct. Similarly, the L10 life can be denoted as:

)
EQUATION 5

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In high reliability/availability products, such as server products, a more useful metrics is L1 life, i.e., the life whenthere is 1% of products fail. L1 can be denoted as:

(
The relationship between L1 and L10 are:

)
EQUATION 6

)
EQUATION 7

For example, if we need a fans L1 life be no less than 7 years (61,320 hours) of continuous operation, for =3.0, the L10 life would be

)
EQUATION 8

ACCELERATED FAN LIFE TESTING AND MODELING

To demonstrate the required fan life, such as L1 of 7 years (61,320 hours), some accelerated life testing must be performed since it is not doable to test a fan for 7 years under normal use conditions. Since a fans life is limited by its bearings and the bearing life is determined by the deterioration of its lubricant (grease or oil) used, fan life is determined by the deterioration of the lubricant in the bearings. As such, the operating temperature is the most important acceleration factor in fans life as shown in Chart 2. 250000 Operating Hours (hrs) 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Temprature (C)

CHART 2 RELATION BETWEEN TEMPRATURE AND FAN LIFE

The question is what is the acceleration factor? Since temperature is the acceleration stress, most people use the Arrhenius model to calculate the acceleration factor, i.e.,

)+
EQUATION 9

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The real question is what the activation energy ( ) should be for the lubricant. The only way to find out the correct value of the activation energy is to test the lubricant under different temperatures and monitor its process of deterioration. The test would take a lot of time and effort. The activation energy typically may not be available unless the lubricant vendor has done its research and testing. Some vendors just simply follow the rule of thumb, i.e., the failure rate doubles when temperature increases by 10C, which translate as an acceleration equation as:
* +
EQUATION 10

The rule of thumb has assumed that the activation energy is lubricants used in fan bearings.

= 0.7. This may not be true for most

Different vendors have used different values for the acceleration factor of temperature. Vendor-A uses an acceleration factor of 1.65 for a 10C temperature change. Vendor-B uses a factor of 1.4 per 10C for temperature greater than 50C and 1.2 for temperature below 50C. Vendor- C used an acceleration factor of 1.52 per 10C ( = 0.3628) in one of their fan test reports. Based on Boosers grease life equation , the acceleration factor is about 1.5 for every 10C temperature increase. Another factor that needs to be considered is that the acceleration factors would be higher under higher testing temperature than lower temperature. For example, the acceleration effect at testing temperature of 70C would be higher than the effect at 50C. Based on the literature and some test data from fan manufacturers, the author suggests use an acceleration factor of 1.5 for every 10C temperature increase if no lubricant testing data is available, i.e., the acceleration factor can be calculate as:

+
EQUATION 11

During the accelerated fan life testing, the test temperature should be set at the highest possible operating temperature or the rated temperature. The testing is typically performed at 70C or 80C, depending on the rating of the fan. It is also very important to power cycle (on/off) the fans under test periodically during the life test to detect such problems as fail to start, changes in RPM, changes in start time or coast down time, increased noise, or low start voltage and current. It is necessary to point out that it may not be valid to extrapolate the test results at high temperature to very low use temperature, such as 25C. The reason is that the failure mechanism of lubricant (evaporation loss and oxidation) at high temperature (e.g., 70C) may be quite different than the failure mechanism at very low temperature, such as 25C. The author suggests 40C as the normal use condition and extrapolate the life test data to 40C. Some vendors quote the life estimate data at 25C. It is questionable to use.

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Another concern in fan life testing is so-called zero-failure testing strategy. In the zero-failure testing, some predetermined L10 or MTTF value is set as a goal and some test samples are put into life test. Using some assumed Weibull beta parameter and acceleration factor, the required test time is calculated for the test under accelerated testing conditions. If the test samples go through the test without failure, then it is claimed that the life of the fan has met the goal. There are at least three assumptions in this zerofailure test strategy that are questionable: 1) the test assumes that the accumulative test time is equivalent to the actual test time of each sample multiplied by the sample size, which means that testing 100 samples for 1,000 hours is equivalent to testing 10 samples for 10,000 hours. This assumption implies that the failure rate is constant. This is not valid for fan failures; 2) the fan life is determined by its lubricant (and bearing) wear-out failure, while during the zero-failure testing the samples may have not reached the wear-out stage before the test is terminated. The approach that using non-failure information to predict wear-out failures is highly questionable; and 3) since different lubricants would have very different wear-out characteristics, using a pre-determined Weibull shape parameter beta is also very questionable without any information on the wear-out process. The best way to estimate the fan life is to put a reasonable number of test samples (more than 30 samples) into an accelerated testing, in which the highest possible operating temperature should be used. Run the test until a few samples have failed (no less than 5 failures). Fit the time-to-failure data and suspended testing data into a Weibull distribution. Then the parameters of the Weibull distribution can be estimated and the L10, L1, and MTTF life of the fan can be predicted.

AN ACCELERATED SUPPLIER QUALIFICATION MATRIX

TABLE 1 FAN FAILURES IN A SAMPLE PRODUCT

Fan Failure Category

Fan Failure

Number of issues identified Field First-article Total testing

6 2 8

Mechanical failure

Electrical failure

Fan installation

Acoustic failure

Serviceability System Cooling performance

Bearing failure. Thermal distortion. Impeller stress cracking. Electrical overstress. PCB cracking or handling damage to components. Wiring errors. Connector crimping or pin opens. Reversed airflow. Loose cabling. Excessive thermal resistance at component. Nominal fan noise creates customer satisfaction issues. Fan blade interference. Poor access raises service costs. Overheating of tape drives.

3 1

0 0

3 1

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It is essential to make sure fan suppliers design and build reliability into their products from the very beginning of the product development. As the same for many other products, cooling fans reliability has to be designed in and built in. The following is a qualification matrix proposed by the author to qualify a fans reliability and quality.

MATERIAL REVIEW AND VERIFICATION

Review the materials used to construct the fan, which include lubricant/grease, motor, fan blades, seal, wiring, and electronic components Lubricant analysis to verify the quality, flow viscosity, and breakdown temperature. Bearing analysis for bearing size, temperature rise, quality, and metal and plating used. Review electronic components type, vendor, quality, and derating

HALT TEST AND MARGIN TEST

Using step-stress tests to test samples into failures and to find weak points and make sure design is robust and has enough design margin High- and low-temperature step stress testing Vibration step-stress testing Thermal shock testing Power cycling at high temperature Sample size >=5

ACCELERATED LIFE TESTING

Different methods of conducting Accelerated testing on this product Using high temperature (rated temperature) testing Continuous monitoring the fan output, noise and RPM during test, or check fan every 240 hours At each interval of 240 hours, power cycling (on/off) samples for at least 10 cycles and check the RPM, noise, and output Record any failures and failure time Failure criteria: RPM reduced by 15%, or noise increased by 3 dB, or input current increased by 20%. Sample size no less than 50. Failure needed no less than 5. Using Weibull distribution of fan failure data to predict L1 life.

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TABLE 2 COMPARISON BETWEEN THE LIFE TIME OF DIFFERENT BEARINGS

Temprature 25C 40C 50C 60C 70C

Ball Bearing 95,000 hours 75,000 hours 63,000 hours 53,000 hours 45,000 hours

Sleeve Bearing 80,000 hours 52,000 hours 40,000 hours 30,000 hours N/A

Difference 18% 44% 58% 80% N/A

FAN VERIFICATION TESTS

Different ways of testing the fan lifetime: Visual Inspection (inspect under microscope or visually any component, wiring, and plastics. Push-back force spring pressure should be measured) Functional test measured on bench with no air flow restriction at nominal voltages; monitor tach, surge and operating currents; measure air flow rate at nominal input voltage Air-to-Air Thermal Shock: -20C to +85C (or rated storage temperature range), 100 cycles Cycled Moisture Resistance (CMR) Test: 10C to +65C with humidity to 95%RH with no bias. 85C/85%RH Test 2000 hours, no bias; intermediate readouts at 168, 500, 1000 & 1500 hours. (This test is for data collection only). Disassemble one fan for internal corrosion and lubricant quality. HTOL (High Temp Operating Life): units to be power cycled every 10 minutes on/off. Specifics are +85C for 2000 Hrs; intermediate readouts at 168, 500, 1000 & 1500. Bearing Test: 1) Running fan at very high rpm (above rated voltage) and in heated chamber to heat bearings beyond normal temperature range. 2) Use of an off-center weight on blades to increase load on bearings. Electrical failures will be discounted, but will be analyzed for root cause of weakness.

MANUFACTURING TESTING AND QUALITY CONTROL

Methods of different Manufacturing testing and control available in different industries On-going reliability testing Yield control and RCA requirement Change management

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CONCLUSION
Based on field return and test data, the major failure mechanisms and failure modes of cooling fan system are presented in this paper. Then, the failure criteria and the reliability metrics for cooling fan systems are discussed. By critically comparing the accelerated life testing methods from various vendors, a practical accelerated life testing methodology is presented. The acceleration testing models and acceleration factor are also discussed. In the last section, a comprehensive reliability qualification procedure is proposed. No matter how technology advances, the cooling system has always been an issue. In theory, each time the temperature increases by 10, the product lifespan will double its rate in weakening. Therefore, not only the traditional thermal module and heat pipes are used, but also generally used cooling fans and its reliability have become a main concern with international companies. No matter how improved the performance of the product becomes, without a proper cooling system, the product will fail due to thermal issues.

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REFERENCES

1.

Introduction to Reliability & Quality Engineering, 2 edition, John P Bentley, Addison-Wesley, ISBN: 0201331322, pages 99-100.

nd

2.

Handbook of Reliability Engineering and Management By William Grant Ireson, Clyde F. Coombs, Richard Y. Moss 2 Edition McGraw-Hill Professional, 1996, ISBN 0070127506.
nd st

3.

Engineering Statistics Handbook, 1 edition, Paul Tobias , White paper. Retrieved from http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/toolaids/pff/8-apr.pdf

4.

Cooling Fan Reliability: Failure Criteria, Accelerated Life Testing, Modeling and Qualification, Xijin Tian, Ph.D., Hewlett-Packard Company. White Paper Published Study.

5. 6. 7.

Strum, M. (2004). Fan Reliability Guide. HP Internal Project Report. Kim, S. & Claassen, A. (1996). How to evaluate fan life. Electronic Cooling. White Paper. Engineering Info http://www.nmbtc.com/pdf/forum/engineering_101.pdf

8.

NMB (2004). Fan Life and Reliability. Retrieved from http://www.nmbtech.com/html/fans/engineering/engineering_101.html

9.

Panasonic, Panaflow (DC Brushless Fan) Life Data. Retrieved from http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/sipb/contrib/doc/DigiKey/SECTM.pdf

10. ISO 281:2007 11. ISO 7779:1999 12. ISO 9296:1988

SOURCES
All Internet citations has been accessed from 24th of March till the 6th of April.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. http://www.theriac.org/DeskReference/viewDocument.php?id=284&Scope=reg http://www.ebmpapst-ad.com/features/articles/art002.html http://www.comairrotron.com/fan_life_data.shtml http://www.electronics-cooling.com/articles/1996/may/may96_03.php http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=1677404

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APPENDIX A
This appendix discusses the one of the standards involved in the previous study.

ISO 281:2007 R OLLING BEARINGS -- D YNAMIC LOAD RATINGS AND RATING LIFE

specifies methods of calculating the basic dynamic load rating of rolling bearings within the size ranges

S COPE OF THE STANDARD

This International Standard specifies methods of calculating the basic dynamic load rating of rolling bearings within the size ranges shown in the relevant IS0 publications, manufactured from Contemporary, commonly used, high quality, hardened bearing steel in accordance with good manufacturing practice and basically of conventional design as regards the shape of rolling contact surfaces. This International Standard also specifies methods of calculating the basic rating life, which is the life associated with 90 Oh reliability, with commonly used high quality material, good manufacturing quality, and with conventional operating conditions. In addition, it specifies methods of calculating adjusted rating life, in which various reliabilities, special bearing properties and specific operating conditions are taken into account by means of life adjustment factors. This International Standard is not applicable to designs where the rolling elements operate directly on a shaft or housing surface, unless that surface is equivalent in all respects to the bearing ring (or washer) raceway it replaces. Double row radial bearings and double direction thrust bearings are, when referred to in this International Standard, presumed to be symmetrical. Further limitations concerning particular types of bearings are included in the relevant clauses. ISO 281:2007 specifies methods of calculating the basic dynamic load rating of rolling bearings within the size ranges shown in the relevant ISO publications, manufactured from contemporary, commonly used, high quality hardened bearing steel, in accordance with good manufacturing practice and basically of conventional design as regards the shape of rolling contact surfaces. ISO 281:2007 also specifies methods of calculating the basic rating life, which is the life associated with 90 % reliability, with commonly used high quality material, good manufacturing quality and with conventional operating conditions. In addition, it specifies methods of calculating the modified rating life, in which various reliabilities, lubrication condition, contaminated lubricant and fatigue load of the bearing are taken into account. ISO 281:2007 does not cover the influence of wear, corrosion and electrical erosion on bearing life. ISO 281:2007 is not applicable to designs where the rolling elements operate directly on a shaft or housing surface, unless that surface is equivalent in all respects to the bearing ring (or washer) raceway it replaces.

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F EATURES
* Calculation of rating life and expanded modified rating life according to DIN ISO 281 including supplement 1 (2003-04) * 11 several kinds of bearings can be calculated * A selection of nearly 20.000 bearings of the producer NSK, SKF, SNR and KOYO is available * Fast selection and identification of the bearings are possible with the selection search * Oil and grease database with products of Lubricant Consult, Fuchs Lubritech, Aral and BP is integrated * Individual setting of the requisite reliability is possible * Deep groove ball bearings with increased bearing clearance C3, C4 * Consideration of operating temperature and cleanness * Individual input of bearings and lubricants is available * Calculation with load collectives is also possible * Diagrams for calculation results (e.g., rating life and axial force) * Detailed calculation report in HTML and PDF format

D ESCRIPTION
The calculation module for roller bearings allows to calculate the rating life and the expanded modified rating life according to DIN ISO 281 including supplement 1 (2003-04). A calculation with load collectives is also possible. Here you can define any number of load cases. For the single load case, the following settings are possible: Frequency (part of time), radial and axial force, temperature and cleanness. You can save and open the load collectives independently of the active bearing calculation. The following kinds of rolling bearings are provided for the calculation: * Deep groove ball bearing (single row) * Deep groove ball bearing (double row) * Angular contact ball bearing (single row) * Angular contact ball bearing (double row) * Self-aligning ball bearing * Four point bearing * Tapered roller bearing (single row) * Cylindrical roller bearing (single row) * Spherical roller bearing * Ball thrust bearing (single row) Page 22 of 25

* Spherical roller thrust bearing The comfortable database provides nearly 20.000 bearings of the producer NSK, SKF, SNR and KOYO. After the selection of the producer, the kind of bearing and the input of the loads, the user can select the desired bearing from a table. As an alternative to the selection from the table, the user can use the selection search for the fast and comfortable bearing identification. For the bearing search, the following parameters can be used: * inner bearing diameter * outer bearing diameter * wide of bearing * on basis of the defined loads, the calculated rating life and expanded modified rating life * max. speed for oil or grease lubrication The parameters can be defined for a certain range. Additionally the own input of a bearing is possible too. Additional an increased bearing clearance C3 or C4 for deep groove ball bearings was integrated into the bearing calculation module. This option can be chosen in the bearing selection. In the bearing selection, the option for the appropriate deep groove ball bearing can be selected. Please note: For using this option, it is recommended to use the bearing clearance that exists after the assembly of the bearing under operating conditions. For the calculation of the expanded modified rating life, several oils and greases can be selected from the integrated database. An own input of data for the lubricant is also provided. The database includes more than 150 products of the following companies: Lubricant Consult, Klber, Fuchs Lubritech, Aral and BP. Additional to the settings for the requisite reliability, operating temperature and cleanness under operating conditions are taken into consideration in the calculation. In the result overview the rating life, expanded modified rating life and the static identification number are displayed. In addition, serveral diagrams are available: Rating life as function of * radial force * axial force * speed * cleanness * temperature and * viscosity of lubricant

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APPENDIX B
This appendix discusses the one of the standards involved in the previous study.

ISO 7779 A COUSTICS -- M EASUREMENT OF AIRBORNE NOISE EMITTED BY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT

intended for noise measurement, is often incorrectly also used for noise declaration. The reason for this is sometimes just simply a lack of knowledge, and sometimes due to a temptation to mislead customers to believe that products' noise figures are better than they actually are. ISO 7779, intended only for noise measurement, is often also used for noise declaration of information technology (IT) and telecommunications equipment. Those who do this leave out the fact that IT noise should be declared using the ISO 9296 standard. ISO 9296 is the international standard for noise declaration of information technology equipment. The reason for this mix-up of standards is sometimes simply a lack of knowledge, but sometimes due to a temptation to mislead customers to believe that noise figures are better than they actually are. Note that you also can be sure that you are subject to misleading if a manufacturer or seller only states a dB or B figure without mentioning any standard at all; such as is most common these days. Those figures are as relative as the notions "quiet" and "almost silent", but since most people will judge figures as an objective truth, will they be much less honest than just simple telling "our product is very quiet" or "our product is almost silent".

ISO 9296 A COUSTICS -- D ECLARED NOISE EMISSION VALUES OF COMPUTER AND BUSINESS EQUIPMENT

Specifies the method of determining these values; acoustical and product information to be given in technical documents supplied to users by the manufacturer; the method for verifying the declared noise emission values given by the manufacturers.The basic values are the declared A-weighted sound power level and the declared A-weighted sound pressure level, at the operator or bystander positions. ISO 9296 is the international noise emission declaration standard for information technology (IT) equipment. ISO 9296, invented by by the computer industry in the 1980s, is as important for IT ergonomics as TCP/IP is for the Internet. The ISO 9296 standard, "Acoustics -- Declared noise emission values of computer and business equipment", is the international accepted one used for declaration of acoustic noise emissions of information technology. It specifies reporting statistical maximum values of the A-weighted sound power levels in decibel; and to report measurements taken according to ISO 7779: Out of this comes the important fact that ISO 9296 is the only standard that has to be declared when labeling IT noise emissions. Page 24 of 25

ISO 9296 is the international noise emission declaration standard for information technology equipment. ISO 9296 can be used for noise declaration of: Personal computer system units Mainboards Hard disks CD/DVD readers/burners, and other storage devices Power supplies Graphic cards Other kinds of information technology equipment sub-assemblies Projectors Printers Fax machines

ISO 9296 states to report data measured using the ISO 7779 standard, but states to only report according to itself. This is the necessary sentence to conform: "Declared noise emissions in accordance with ISO 9296". Note that this means that ISO 7779 should be left out for full conformance - an intelligent decission since ordinary people don't have to bother about a standard only intended for acoustic engineers.

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