Process to Establish the Enhance of Fatigue Life of New Mechanical System Such as a Drawer by Accelerated Tests

Abstract

To extend the life of a mechanical system, parametric Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) is proposed as a procedure to identify design faults and reduce fatigue failure. It includes a derivation of generalized time to failure model by linear transport process and a sample size equation for the ALT. A refrigerator drawer was used as an example. After loading, the rail rollers broke and the center support was bent. Ribs were added to the center support and the rail roller support was extended. At the first ALT, the box cover failed near the intersection between the cover and body. The box was then modified by increasing the rib and fillet. At the second ALT, the rails and center support fractured. They were altered by increasing the rib and corner rounding. After the third ALT, there were no issues. The drawer lifetime was ensured to be B1 life 10 years.

Keywords

• fatigue
• parametric ALT
• mechanical system
• drawer
• design faults