Engineering failure data analysis: Revisiting the standard linear approach

Abstract In this paper, the current standard method and other commonly used engineering practices for linear or linearized engineering failure data analysis are critically reviewed first, and the existing issues are also indicated. To overcome these issues, a linear data analysis method based on a new equilibrium mechanism is subsequently presented. Based on the equilibrium mechanism, three possible ideal data patterns are identified and the corresponding best curve fitting approaches are proposed. Compared to the existing methods, the equilibrium method not only provides quantitative solutions of fit parameters, but also gives an obvious physical meaning and, therefore, is more intuitive in quickly and correctly identifying data patterns, subsequent data preprocessing, and evaluating goodness-of-fit. The equilibrium method is further applied to fatigue and creep data analyses to demonstrate its applicability.