RE-7

10/28/2024
Reliability Testing
• Testing is an essential part of any engineering development
programme.
• If the development risks are high the test programme becomes a
major component of the overall development effort, in terms of time
and other resources.
• For example, a new type of hydraulic pump or a new model of a
video recording system will normally undergo exhaustive tests to
determine that the design is reliable under the expected operating
environments and for the expected operating life.
• Reliability testing is necessary because designs are seldom

perfect and because designers cannot usually be aware of, or
be able to analyse, all the likely causes of failure of their
designs in service.
Reliability testing should be considered as part of an integrated
test programme, which should include:
• Functional testing, to confirm that the design meets the basic
performance requirements.
• Environmental testing, to ensure that the design is capable of
operating under the expected range of environments.
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• Statistical tests, to optimize the design of the product and the

production processes.
• Reliability testing, to ensure (as far as is practicable) that the
product will operate without failure during its expected life.
• Safety testing, when appropriate.
• All testing will provide information on performance and

reliability, and there will be common requirements for
expertise, test equipment and other resources.
• The different categories of test do have certain special
requirements.
• To provide the basis for a properly integrated development
test programme, the design specification should cover all
criteria to be tested (function, environment, reliability,
safety).
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The development test program should include:

• Model allocations (components, sub-assemblies, system).
• Requirements for facilities such as test equipment.
• A common test and failure reporting system.
• Test plan and schedule.
The development test dilemma should be addressed by dividing
tests into two main categories:
• Tests in which failures are undesirable (test to success).
• Tests that deliberately generate failures (test to failure).
Planning Reliability Testing

Using Design Analysis Data:
• The design analyses performed during the design phase
(CAE, reliability prediction, FMECA, stress analysis,
parameter variation analysis, sneak circuit analysis, FTA) as
well as any earlier test results, should be used in preparing
the reliability test plan.
Considering Variability
• A major source of variability is the range of production
processes involved in converting designs into hardware.
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• If parameter variation analyses or statistical tests have been

performed, these can be very useful in planning reliability
tests to confirm the effects of variation.
• The number of systems to be tested must be determined by
considering:
1 The extent to which the key variables can be controlled.
2 The criticality of failure.
3 The cost of test hardware and of testing.
Durability
• The reliability test program must take account of the pattern
of the main failure modes with respect to time(or cycles,
distances, etc., with which the time dimension is associated).
• If the failure modes have increasing hazard rates, testing
must be directed towards assuring adequate reliability during
the expected life.
• Therefore reliability tests must be of sufficient duration to
demonstrate this, or they must be accelerated.
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Test Environments
The reliability test programme must cover the range of
environmental conditions which the product is likely to have to
endure. The main reliability-affecting environmental factors,
affecting most products, are:
• Temperature • Voltage (electronics)
• Vibration • Dirt/dust
• Mechanical shock • Contaminants
• Humidity • People
• Power input and output
In addition, electronic equipment might be subjected to:

• Electromagnetic effects (EMI).
• Voltage transients, including electrostatic discharge (ESD).
Certain other environments can affect reliability in special
cases. Examples are:
• Radiation (ultraviolet, cosmic, X-rays). • Electromagnetic pulse (lightning, nuclear).

• Lubricant age or contamination. • Salt spray.
• Noxious gases. High altitude. • Fungus.
• Space vacuum. • High intensity noise.
• Industrial pollution.
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Vibration Testing
The main principles of effective vibration testing are:
• Vibration should be input to the device under test (DUT)
through more than one axis, preferably simultaneously.
• Vibration inputs should cover the complete range of expected
frequencies and intensities, so that all resonances will be
excited.
• In most applications vibration input should be random, rather
than swept frequency, so that different resonances will be
excited simultaneously.
• Test fixtures to mount the DUT to the vibration tables should

be designed so that they do not alter the vibration output (no
fixture resonances or damping). Whenever practicable, the
DUT should be mounted directly on to the vibrator platform.
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Temperature Testing
• The most common types of temperature tests are constant
temperature, temperature cycling and thermal shock.
• Constant temperature tests are more common in the electronics
industry and are designed to evaluate the operational or storage
capabilities of the product under extreme low or extreme high
temperatures.
• Temperature cycling and thermal shock are intended to subject the
product to low cycle fatigue (as opposed to high cycle fatigue
experienced during vibration).
• Due to a mismatch between coefficients of thermal

expansion for different materials, thermal cycling causes
stress cycling, which often results in fatigue failures.
• Thermal cycling and thermal shock are defined by the
extreme values (high and low temperatures) and the rate of
transition, which is typically much higher in thermal shock
tests.
• Temperature testing for electrical and electronic equipment is
important, since reliability can be affected by operating
temperature and by thermal cycling.
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• In most cases equipment should be powered and operated

during temperature testing, otherwise the tests will be
unrepresentative of the thermal patterns and gradients in
use.
• It should also be monitored continuously to ensure that
intermittent failures are detected.
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Testing

• EMC testing is very important for electronic systems, since
data corruption due to electromagnetic interference (EMI) or
from voltage transients in power supplies can have serious
consequences.
• The equipment must be subjected to EMI and transients to
confirm that it will perform without failure under these
conditions.
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• The levels of EMI and transient waveforms must be

ascertained by evaluating or measuring the operating
environment, or they might be specified.
• Internally induced EMI and transients must also be protected
against, and tests to ensure that transmitted EMI is within
limits might also be necessary.

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10/28/2024

• Reliability testing is necessary because designs are seldom

• Statistical tests, to optimize the design of the product and the

• All testing will provide information on performance and

The development test program should include:

Planning Reliability Testing

• If parameter variation analyses or statistical tests have been

In addition, electronic equipment might be subjected to:

• Radiation (ultraviolet, cosmic, X-rays). • Electromagnetic pulse (lightning, nuclear).

• Test fixtures to mount the DUT to the vibration tables should

• Due to a mismatch between coefficients of thermal

• In most cases equipment should be powered and operated

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Testing

• The levels of EMI and transient waveforms must be

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