Accelerated degradation testing (ADT) is usually conducted under deterministic stresses such as constant-stress, step-stress, and cyclic-stress. Based on ADT data, an ADT model is developed to predict reliability under normal (field) operating conditions. In engineering applications, the "standard" approach for reliability prediction assumes that the normal operating conditions are deterministic or simply uses the mean values of the stresses while ignoring their variability. Such an approach may lead to significant prediction errors. In this paper, we extend an ADT model obtained from constant-stress ADT experiments to predict field reliability by considering the stress variations. A case study is provided to demonstrate the proposed statistical inference procedure. The accuracy of the procedure is verified by simulation using various distributions of field stresses.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.