Abstract:

New designed residential-sized refrigerators subjected to repetitive random vibrations can be damaged during transportation. The damage consists of the fracturing of the tubes between the compressor and condenser and the tearing of the compressor rubber mounts. As the reliability quantitative (RQ) test specifications, parametric accelerated life testing (ALT) through sample inspections and corrective action plans was used to identify the key control parameters for the connecting tubes and compressor rubber mounts. The shape of failures in refrigerators found experimentally was identical to those of the failed samples in the field. The connecting tube fractures resulted from the problematic shape of the compressor rubber mount. To correct these problems, the mounts and connecting tubes were redesigned. The refrigerators with targeted B1 life were expected to survive without failure during rail transport. Parametric ALTs were effective in identifying the missing design parameters of mechanical systems such as refrigerators during the design phase. The reliability design method presented in this paper should be applicable to other mechanical systems during transportation.

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