Physics of Failure Based Simulated Aided/Guided Accelerated Life Testing

This paper discusses the integration of Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) for Electrical/Electronic (E/E) products with computer simulations. It demonstrates how Physics of Failure (PoF) based failure mechanism models that calculate stress damage accumulation in materials can be used in Comparative Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) Durability Simulations to correlate and optimize accelerated life validation tests. The process can be implement in two formats: ; Simulation Aided Testing (SAT) to determine the expected Reliability-Durability performance from Accelerated Life Test Results. : Simulation Guided Testing (SGT) for designing an optimized Accelerated Life Test from knowledge of the expected field conditions. This process results in faster life testing with greater accuracy for detection of failure susceptibilities. These benefits are in addition to the value of PoF CAE simulations for optimizing the Reliability- Durability capabilities of an E/E Product in a Reliability by Design process. A Physics of Failure Reliability Assessment combines dynamic stress analysis of usage and environmental conditions with failure mechanism models to perform a durability simulation that identifies failure susceptibilities and calculates reliability behavior over time. The PoF CAE analysis enables a physics based view of product reliability that identifies optimization opportunities early in the design cycle to provide greater insight for creating highly reliable, robust products faster and at lower costs.