Calculating the durability of energy-related products (ErPs) is crucial due to their environmental impact. Increasing the durability of these products can significantly reduce the consumption of raw materials and energy required for production and disposal. Understanding and assessing product durability helps in balancing the trade-off between extending product life and minimizing environmental impacts from manufacturing and disposing of new products. This guide is based on the general methods outlined in EN 45552:2020, which provides a framework for assessing the reliability and durability of ErPs.
Understanding Durability and Reliability
Durability refers to the ability of a product to function as required, under defined conditions, until it reaches a limiting state, which could be its end-of-life (EoL). This is not a probability but rather the expected time or cycles a product can endure. Durability can be measured in various units such as calendar time, operating cycles, or distance run, depending on the product.
Reliability, on the other hand, is the probability that a product will function as required, without failure, for a given duration under specified conditions. Reliability assessments focus on the time to first failure or the time between failures, providing a statistical measure of a product’s performance over time.
General Method for Durability Assessment
The assessment method for durability involves several key steps:
- Define the Product and Its Functions:
- Conduct a functional analysis to describe the primary, secondary, and tertiary functions of the product. This helps in understanding the product characteristics and how they achieve their intended functionalities.
- Identify Environmental and Operating Conditions:
- Determine the normal environmental and operating conditions the product will face. This includes temperature, humidity, mechanical stresses, and other relevant factors. These conditions help in simulating real-life scenarios during durability testing.
- Gather Additional Information:
- Collect data from past experiences, field data, manufacturer constraints, and other sources. This information supports the reliability and durability analysis by providing insights into potential failure modes and mechanisms.
- Conduct Reliability Analysis:
- Perform a reliability analysis using techniques like Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to identify potential failure modes and their causes. This analysis helps in prioritizing the failure modes based on their likelihood and impact.
- Develop and Apply Durability Assessment Methods:
- Choose or develop appropriate testing methods to assess the durability of the product. This may involve physical testing of samples, accelerated life testing, and calculation from existing data. Ensure that the methods are reliable, repeatable, and cost-effective.
- Document the Assessment:
- Record the results of the reliability and durability analyses, including the identified failure modes, assessment methods, and any assumptions made during the analysis. Documentation should also include details on the environmental and operating conditions considered.
Key Considerations
- Maintenance and Repair:
- Durability assessments should consider the potential for maintenance and repair, which can extend the life of the product. The number and type of repair actions should be defined and included in the assessment.
- Accelerated Testing:
- Accelerated tests, as described in standards like EN 62506, can provide quicker insights into the durability of a product by subjecting it to higher levels of stress. These tests help estimate how long a product can last under normal conditions based on its performance under accelerated conditions.
For more detailed guidance, refer to the full text of EN 45552:2020 and related standards such as EN 45554:2020 for repair, reuse, and upgrade assessments, and EN 62308 for reliability assessment methods.
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