A Practical Method for Automotive Accelerated Life Test

Accelerated life test is a viable method for identifying failure modes, incorporating design changes on an on-going basis during the early stages of automotive development program. The information from tests at high stress levels is extrapolated to obtain estimate of life at normal stress levels. This paper presents a practical method for accelerated life test to achieve a specified accuracy in estimating life at a design stress. Recommended and optimum plan are presented and the plans are illustrated with a simulated test data for the automotive power element example.