Estimation of power-type acceleration functions in life testing (Q1113254)

The lifetime distribution of a certain device depends on the stress S under which it is operating. In many practical cases one can find a relation between the distribution functions \(F(S_ 1;t)\) and \(F(S_ 2;t)\) under considered stress levels \(S_ 1\) and \(S_ 2\) by a so-called acceleration function (AF) \(a(S_ 1,S_ 2;t)\) with \(F(S_ 2;t)=F(S_ 1;a(S_ 1,S_ 2;t))\), \(t>0\). A method for estimating an AF of power- type \(a(S_ 1,S_ 2;t)=\alpha (S_ 1,S_ 2)\cdot t^{\beta (S_ 1,S_ 2)}\) under multicomponent stress \(S=(s_ 1,...,s_ k)\) is discussed. The techniques are based on results described by the authors in earlier papers. An example shows the application of these methods for a plastic encapsulated IC.