ACCELERATED LIFE TESTING OF GUIDANCE COMPONENTS.

Abstract : This report deals with theoretical developments necessary for accelerated testing, with specific hardware considerations. In the theoretical area, the currently prevalent approach to accelerated testing is described and analyzed, and is found inadequate. A comparative discussion of various failure models is presented, and those most amenable to meaningful accelerated testing are developed in detail. Models for devices with multiple failure modes are described, and pertinent estimation procedures are reviewed. A new method for efficient estimation of the failure distribution of repairable equipment is presented. In the hardware area, the report includes a detailed examination of several space guidance componennts, with emphasis on considerations pertinent to accelerated testing, and specific applications of accelerated testing to space guidance components are recommended. The phenomenon of metallic creep is examined from the standpoint of its relation to failures of space guidance components, and methods of accelerated estimation of creep behavior are examined. (Author)