Methodology to Enhance the Lifetime of Mechanical System by Utilizing Parametric Accelerated Life Testing

Abstract

To enhance the design of mechanical systems, parametric Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) as a systematic reliability method is proposed as a way to evaluate the design of mechanical systems subjected to repeated impact stresses. It requires: (1) a parametric ALT scheme shaped on system BX lifetime, (2) a load inspection, (3) parametric ALTs with the associated design modifications, and (4) an assessment of whether the revised product design(s) reach the targeted BX lifetime. We propose using a general life-stress model and sample size equation. A test example using both market data and parametric ALT was the redesign of a hinge kit system (HKS) in a refrigerator. To conduct parametric ALTs, a force and moment balance analysis was utilized. The mechanical impact loadings of the HKS were evaluated for an working refrigerator door. For the first ALT, the HKS failure happened in the crack/fracture of the kit housing and oil spilled from the damper when the HKS was disassembled. The failure modes and mechanisms constructed in the 1st ALT were similar to those of the unsuccessful samples found from the marketplace. The missing design parameters of the HKS included stress raisers such as corner roundings and the rib of the housing in HKS, the seal in the oil damper, and the material of the cover housing. In the second ALT, the cover housing fractured. The design defect of the cover housing in the HKS was the plastic material. As a corrective action plan, the cover housing was modified from plastic to aluminum. After the second ALT, the lifetime of the modified HKS was reassured to be B1 life 10 years with a yearly failure rate of 0.1%.