Probabilistic engineering design

It is essential for the design engineer to understand and take into account all sources of variation which will be encountered by the system or component being developed. Very little has been done to address the stochastic nature of fatigue and durability in the early design phase. To choose the best structural and mechanical designs (considering factors such as cost, reliability, weight, and volume), a methodology is necessary for estimating component/system reliability predictions while in the early design stage. In this paper, a stress/strength design approach is discussed. An 18.145 in. long rear suspension link example to verify the 99.99% design-in reliability requirement is demonstrated.