- Author
-
Rickers, H. C.
- Title
- Residential Smoke Detector Reliability Handbook. Section 1. Parts Stress Analysis. Final Report.
- Coporate
- IIT Research Institute, Griffiss Air Force Base, NY
- Sponsor
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
-
NBS GCR 79-161
February 1979
224 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
-
component screening
|
electronic component reliability
|
failure analysis
|
failure models
|
failure rates
|
reliability
|
residential buildings
- Abstract
- This Residential Smoke Detector Reliability Handbook is designed to provide a means for the accurate prediction of smoke detector failure rates in a residential environment. The methodology developed by which a smoke detector critical failure rate can be determined is divided into three major sections. Section 1.0 contains the parts stress reliability prediction techniques for each major generic component type currently being used in residential smoke detctors, or exhibiting the potential for being in future designs. Section 2.0 through the application of FMECA and/or FTA techniques, presents the guidelines for the determination of those components, and their associated failure modes, which are considered critical to the audible warning capabilities of the detector. The process of applying the predicted failure rates of Section 1.0 to the FMECA/FTA guidelines of Section 2.0 will result in a critical failure rate for residential smoke detectors; i.e. the rate at which failures that will not trigger the audible alarm circuitry may occur, thus negating the protective characteristics of the unit. Finally, Section 3.0 discusses methods of screening for the predominant failure modes of those electronic components characterized as most critical to smoke detector operation, to efficiently detect and eliminate infant mortality failure.