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 life-time. 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 aluminium. 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%.
Highlights
Mechanical products such as automobiles, airplanes, and refrigerators convert some form of power into a mechanical advantages utilizing various mechanisms
As shown in the picture, the tests affirmed that the hinge kit system (HKS) housing had a fragile structure near the notch because there were high stresses produced at the sharp edges where it failed
To enhance the lifetime of a newly designed mechanical system such as HKS, we have proposed a parametric Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) as a systematic reliability method that incorporates: 1) a parametric ALT plan, 2) a load examination, 3) a parametric ALTs with design alterations, and 4) an assessment of the last design needs of the HKS to assure they were fulfilled
Summary
Mechanical products such as automobiles, airplanes, and refrigerators convert some form of power into a mechanical advantages utilizing various mechanisms. To determine the failure phenomena of a mechanical product, a better life-stress model might be combined with the traditional design approaches and applicable to electronic parts identifying a small crack or pre-existing defect that is impractical to model using FEM. Employing a systematic method that can produce a closed-form, specific answers would entail making countless assumptions that cannot identify multi-module product failures due to micro-void, contacts, de-sign defects, etc. This work presents a parametric ALT as a systematic reliability method that might be relevant to mechanical systems It contains: (1) a parametric ALT scheme shaped on product BX lifetime, (2) a load inspection for ALT, (3) a parametric ALTs with the design changes, and (4) an assessment of whether the latest design(s) of the product gets the objective BX lifetime. As a case-study, we will examine the design of a HKS in a domestic refrigerator
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