Title:	Development of Acceleration Factors for Testing Mechanical Equipment
	Author:	John Evans, Ph.D
	Size:	109.5 KB
	Date Published:

Summary
Accelerated life tests allow for the reduction of test time to demonstrate targeted life of a component for a given level of reliability. Application of accelerated life tests can reduce development and save costs. This is accomplished by increasing loads on the component or by compressing the time scale in relation to the service environment. The acceleration factor provides a quantitative estimate of the relationship between the test condition and the field condition and is a necessary relationship to properly design and execute an accelerated test. Development of acceleration factors requires specific steps and tools to achieve an appropriate acceleration factor expression for designing meaningful tests.