Total Quality Management

Dr. Vipindas K.
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
IIITDM Kurnool
Reliability
Bath tub curve of failure rate function
• There are three basic ways in which the pattern of failures can change with time.

• The hazard rate may be decreasing, increasing or constant.

• We can tell much about the causes of failure and about the reliability of the item
by looking at the way the hazard rate behaves in time
Bath tub curve of failure rate function
• Decreasing hazard rates are observed in items which become less likely to fail as
their survival time increases.

• Knowledge of a decreasing hazard rate is used to generate an improvement in

reliability.

• The parts are operated under failure-provoking stress conditions for a time
before delivery. As substandard parts fail and are rejected the hazard rate
decreases and the surviving population is more reliable.
Bath tub curve of failure rate function
• A constant hazard rate is characteristic of failures which are caused by the
application of loads in excess of the design strength, at a constant average rate.

• For example, overstress failures due to accidental or transient circuit overload, or

maintenance-induced failures of mechanical equipment, typically occur randomly
and at a generally constant rate.
Bath tub curve of failure rate function
• Wear out failure modes follow an increasing hazard rate.

• The combined effect generates the so-called bathtub curve

Bath tub curve of failure rate function
• Failure rate function of many devices follow bath tub curve
Classes of Life distributions

• Exponential

• Gamma

• Weibull

• Normal

• Log Normal
Exponential distributions

• Exponential distribution describes the constant hazard rate situation.

• The constant hazard rate is denoted by λ

• The mean life, or mean time to failure (MTTF), is 1/λ

• The Probability Density Function (pdf) is then written as

Exponential distributions

• The probability of no failures occurring before time t is

Exponential distributions

• The measuring unit of the parameter λ is the probability per unit of time

• The failure rate function of an exponential distribution (RV) is constant

• The device that has an age t is as good as new item with an age of zero. This is
the memory less property of the exponential distribution
Examples on Failure rate function

• The mean time to failure of a particular type of component is 800 hrs. what is the
probability that a similar component will fail in an operating time of (a) 200 hrs,
(b) 400 hrs, (c) 800 hrs (d) 1000 hrs
The Weibull Distribution

• The Weibull distribution is the most popular statistical distribution used by

reliability engineers

• It has the advantage:

• That by adjusting the distribution parameters it can be made to fit many life distributions.
The Weibull Distribution

• The Weibull probability density function (pdf)

• β – is the shape parameter and

• η – is the scale parameter

The Weibull Distribution

• Corresponding reliability function is

• The hazard rate

The Weibull Distribution

• MTTF:

• Standard deviation:
The Weibull Distribution
• The following relationships apply for integer values of x and n.
The Weibull Distribution
• Gamma function.
The Weibull Distribution

• When β = 1, Weibull distribution reduces to exponential distribution.

• Implies constant hazard rate

• In this condition η = 1/λ (mean life)

• When β < 1, decreasing hazard rate reliability function

• When β > 1, increasing hazard rate reliability function.

The Weibull Distribution

• So far we have dealt with the two-parameter Weibull distribution

• If, however, failures do not start at t = 0, but only after a finite time γ, then the
Weibull reliability function takes the form

• γ is called the failure free time, location parameter or minimum life.