14.2 Design for use: How long will this design work? Flashcards
What is reliability?
Reliability is the“probability that an item will perform its function under stated conditions of use and maintenance for a stated measure of a variate (time, distance, etc.).”
What is a variate?
Variate is the appropriate measure of the use of the design (e.g. time, distance).
Only under what assumption can we properly measure the reliability of a component or system?
We can properly measure the reliability of a component or system only under the assumption that it has been or will be used under some specified conditions.
What is the term for the appropriate measure of use of the design?
The appropriate measure of use of the design, called the variate, may be something other than time. The variate is not always time.
What are some examples of measures of variate?
Measures of variate include the following:
- Time
- miles (for vehicles)
- Distance
- Number of uses
- Cycles
- cycles of operation (piece of vibrating machinery
In what context must we examine reliability?
Reliability must be examined in the context of functions.
What is the British standard of failure?
The British Standard 4778 of failure is “the termination of the ability of an item to perform a required function .”
Between what two points of inquiry is it useful to distinguish in failure?
It is useful to distinguish between:
- when a system fails
- how the system fails
What is in-service failure?
In-service failure is when an item fails when in use.
What is incidental failure?
Incidental failure means that an item fails, but the consequences are not detectable until (later) some other activity takes place.
What is catastrophic failure?
Catastrophic failure is characterized by failure of some function such that the entire system in which the item is embedded fails.
What is the meaning of Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)?
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) is exemplified by miles per in-service failure, or some other metric, i.e. the average functional period.
Consider the two failure distributions - two reliability probability distributions have the same mean (or average), that is, MTBFa = MTBFb, but they have very different degrees of dispersion. Which design is more reliable based on the MTBF distributions? Why?
The first design is more reliable because there are fewer failures earlier in the life of the artifact.
What can cause a system to fail in series system design?
In a chain of parts or elements, the failure of any one of which would break the chain, which in turn will cause the system to fail.
What is a good analogy to explain series system design?
Just as a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, a series system is no more reliable than its most unreliable part.
Note an example of series system design.
Note an example of redundant/parallel system design.
