Definitions

 Cumulative time to failure (T):

 When components are run for a time t without replacing or
repairing failed components:

 Mean life:
 The average life of the components put on test or in service,
measured over the entire life curve out to wearout.
 Mean time to failure (MTTF):
 The sum of the survival time for all of the components divided
by the number of failures.
 Mean time between failures (MTBF):
 The mean time between two successive component failures.
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Average Failure Rates For A Variety of
Components and Systems

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Constant Failure Rate
 For the special case of a constant failure rate , ,:

 The probability distribution of reliability is a negative

exponential distribution.

 The reciprocal of is the mean time between failures (MTBF):

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Example 3
If a device has a failure rate of 2 x 10-6 failures/h, what is its reliability for an
operating period of 500h? If there are 2000 items in the test, how many
failures are expected in 500h? Assume that strict quality control has eliminated
premature failures so we can assume a constant failure rate.
= exp(-2 x 10-6 x 500) = e-0.001= 0.999
Ns = N0R(t) = 2000(0.999) =1998
Nf = N0-Ns = 2 failures expected.
If the MTBF for the device is 100,000h, what is the reliability if the operating
time equals 100,000 h?
= e-100,000/100,000 = e-1= 0.37
If the length of constant failure rate is 50,000h, what is the reliability for
operating for that length?
R(50,000) = exp(-2x10-6 x 5 x104) = e-0.1 = 0.905

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Weibull Frequency Distribution
 The Weibull distribution describes the life of a component
for which all values are positive and for which there are
occasional long-lived results.
 The two-parameter Weibull distribution function is
described by:

Where f(x)= frequency distribution of the random variable x

m=shape parameter
=scale parameter

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Weibull Frequency Distribution
 Probability of x being less than a value q:

 The mean of Weibull distribution:

 The variance of a Weibull distribution:

 The cumulative frequency distribution of a Weibull

distribution:

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Reliability With A Variable Failure Rate
 Mechanical failures, and some failures of electronic
components, do not exhibit a period of constant failure
rate.

 Since the failure rate is a function of time, the simple

exponential relation for reliability no longer applied.

 Instead, reliability is expressed by the Weibull

distribution:

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Example 4
The failure of a group of mechanical components follows a
Weibull distribution, where m = 1.5 and θ = 6 x 105 cycles.
What is the probability that one of the component will have
a life of 5 x 105h.

F(t) = 1-exp[(-5x105/6x105)1.5] = 1-e-0.760 = 0.532

=53%
R(t) = 1-0.532= 0.468

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System Reliability
 The overall reliability of the system depends on how the
individual components with their individual failure rates
are arranged.
 If the components are arranged so that the failure of any
component causes the system to fail, it is said to be
arranged in series:

 A much better arrangement of components is one in which

it is necessary for all components in the system to fail in
order for the system to fail. This is called parallel
reliability:

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System Reliability (2)
 If we are dealing with a constant-failure-rate system:
 Series:

 Parallel:

 The reliability of an n-out-of-m system is given by a

binomial distribution:

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Maintenance and Repair
 An important category of reliability problems deals with
maintenance and repair of systems.
 If a failed component can be repaired while a redundant
component has replaced it in service, then the overall
reliability of the system is improved.
 If components subject to wear can be replaced before they
have failed, then the system reliability will be improved.
 Preventive maintenance is aimed at minimizing system
failure.

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Maintainability
 A redundant system continues to operate when a
component has failed, but it may become vulnerable to
shutdown unless the component is repaired and placed
back in service.

Where MTBF= mean time between failures

MTTF=mean time to fail
MTTF=mean time to repair
 Maintainabiltiy is the probability that a component or
system that has failed will be restored to service within a
given time.

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Availability
 Availability is the concept that combines both reliability
and maintainability; it is the proportion of time the system
is working “on line” to the total time, when that is
determined over a long working period.

If

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Causes of Unreliability
 Design mistakes:
 Among the common design errors are failure to include all
important operator factors, incomplete information on loads
and environmental conditions, erroneous calculations, and
poor selection of materials.
 Manufacturing defects:
 Poor surface finish, decarburization crack in heat-treated steel.
 Maintenance
 Exceeding design limits:
 Exceeding limits of temperature, speed, etc.
 Environmental factors:
 Subjecting equipment to environmental conditions for which it
was not designed.
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Minimizing Failure
 A variety of methods are used in engineering design
practice to improve reliability:

 Margin of safety
 Derating
 Redundancy
 Durability
 Damage tolerance
 Ease of Inspection
 Specificity

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 14.5 Failure Mode and Effects
Analysis (FMEA)
What is FMEA?

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FMEA
 Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a team-based
methodology for identifying potential problems with new
or existing designs.

 FMEA was first used to identify and correct safety

hazards.

 FMEA identifies the mode of failure of every component

in a system and determines the effect on the system of
each potential failure.

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Factors in Developing FMEA
 Three factors are considered in developing a FMEA:
 The severity of a failure
 The probability of occurrence of the failure.
 The likelihood of detecting the failure in either design or
manufacturing, before the product is used by the customer.
 Risk Priority Number (RPN):

 Value of RPN can vary from a maximum of 1000, the

greatest risk, to a minimum of 1.

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Rating for Severity of Failure

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Rating of Occurrence of Failure

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Rating of Detection of Failure

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Results Of A FMEA Analysis

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Creating a FMEA Chart
1. The design is reviewed to determine the interrelations of
assemblies and the interrelations of the components of
each subassembly.
2. Now look more broadly, and ask what are the
consequences to the system of each failure identified in
step1.
3. For each of the functions, list the potential failure
modes.
4. For each of the failure modes identifies, describe the
consequences or effect of the failure.
5. Using the severity of failure table, enter the numerical
value.
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Creating a FMEA Chart (2)
6. Identify the possible causes of the failure mode.
7. Using the occurrence of failure table, enter a value for
the occurrence of the cause of each failure.
8. Determine how the potential failure will be detected.
9. Using Table 14.14, enter a rating that reflects the ability
to detect the cause of the failure identified in step 8.
10. Calculate the risk priority number (RPN).
11. For each potential failure, determine the corrective
action to remove a potential design, manufacturing, or
operational failure.

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 14.6 Fault Tree Analysis

What is fault tree analysis?

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Fault Tree Analysis
 Fault tree analysis (FTA) is a systematic method to
identify undesired events (faults) in a system.
 A fault is when a system does something it is not
supposed to do or does not do something it is supposed to
do.
 Often these faults are reliability or safety issues.
 Fault tree analysis starts with the top undesired event and
develops in a tree-like fashion all potential causes for that
event.
 FTA is the ability to identify combinations of events that
can affect the top undesired event.

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Fault Tree For The Failure Of A Lawn
Mower Engine to Start

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 14.7 Defects and Failure Modes

What are typical defects and failure modes in engineering design?

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Defects and Failure Modes
 Failures of engineering designs and systems are a result of
deficiencies in four broad categories:

 Hardware failure:
 Failure of a component to function as designed
 Software failure:
 Failure of the computer software to function as designed
 Human failure:
 Failure of human operators to follow instructions or respond
adequately to emergency situations.
 Organizational failure:
 Failure of the organization to properly support the system.

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Causes of Hardware Failure
1. Design deficiencies

2. Deficiency in selection of material

3. Imperfection in material due to manufacturing

4. Improper testing or inspection

5. Overload and other abuses in service

6. Inadequate maintenance and repair

7. Environmental factors

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Failure Modes
 The specific modes of failure of engineering components
can usually be grouped into four general classes:
 Excessive elastic deformation
 Excessive plastic deformation
 Fracture
 Loss of required part geometry through corrosion or wear

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Failure Modes for Mechanical
Components

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Examples of Failure Modes in
Components

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