A methodology based on IR Thermography measurements is proposed to estimate real istic values of hardware failure rates corresponding to secondary failures that is those caused by past or present outoftolerance or abnormal operating conditions. The methodology allows the establishment of useful correlations between these failure rates and the corresponding relevant thermal patterns as mapped using IR Thermography. The methodology is applied to practical cases of secondary failures in typical electrical and mechanical components having to do with failure modes due to abnormal stress corrosion and friction. The application of this technique to fault and failure diagnosis and both Reliability Availability and Maintainability (RAM) Analysis and Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PEA) is also briefly discussed. 1.

Date Published: 1 March 1990
PDF: 17 pages
Proc. SPIE 1313, Thermosense XII: An International Conference on Thermal Sensing and Imaging Diagnostic Applications, (1 March 1990); doi: 10.1117/12.21906

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1313:
Thermosense XII: An International Conference on Thermal Sensing and Imaging Diagnostic Applications
Sharon A. Semanovich, Editor(s)