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Design of Critical ComponentsCritical component design is based on minimizing product failures that results in loss of life. Potential catastrophic failures are reduced to secondary failures where components removed for cause or operating time in the system. Issues of liability and cost of component removal become of paramount importance. Deterministic design with factors of safety and probabilistic design address but lack the essential characteristics for the design of critical components. In deterministic design and fabrication there are heuristic rules and safety factors developed over time for large sets of structural/material components. These factors did not come without cost. Many designs failed and many rules (codes) have standing committees to oversee their proper usage and enforcement. In probabilistic design, not only are failures a given, the failures are calculated; an element of risk is assumed based on empirical failure data for large classes of component operations. Failure of a class of components can be predicted, yet one can not predict when a specific component will fail. The analogy is to the life insurance industry where very careful statistics are book-kept on classes of individuals. For a specific class, life span can be predicted within statistical limits, yet life-span of a specific element of that class can not be predicted.
Document ID
20020022532
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hendricks, Robert C.
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH United States)
Zaretsky, Erwin V.
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH United States)
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
October 1, 2001
Publication Information
Publication: 2000 NASA Seal/Secondary Air System Workshop
Volume: 1
Subject Category
Quality Assurance And Reliability
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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