The electronic components are used in several safety and maintenance systems that require accurate reliability prediction for higher availability. The traditional reliability prediction methods that draw on standard handbooks such as MIL-HDBK 217F, Telcordia, CNET etc., are inappropriate to determine the reliability indices of these components due to empirical methods does not comply with operating life cycle and technology advancements. The progressive reliability prediction methodology, the physics-of-failure (PoF), emphasizes the root cause of failure, failure analysis, and failure mechanisms based on the analysis of parameter characteristics. However, there is a limitation: it is sometimes difficult to obtain manufacturer’s details for failure analysis and quality information. Several statistical and probability modeling methods can be performed on the experimental data of these components to measure the time to failure. These experiments can be conducted using the accelerated-testing of dominant stress parameters such as voltage, current, temperature, radiation etc. In this paper, the combination of qualitative data from PoF approach and quantitative data from the statistical analysis is used to create a modified physics-of-failure approach. The critical electronic components used in certain safety systems from different technologies are chosen for reliability prediction: optocoupler, constant fraction discriminator, BJT transistor, voltage comparator, voltage follower and instrumentation amplifier is studied. The failure characteristics of each of the technologies are studied and compared according to operating conditions

All assets necessarily suffer wear and tear during operation. Prognostics can assess the current health of a system and predict its remaining life based on features capturing the gradual degradation of its operational capabilities. Prognostics are critical to improve safety, plan successful work, schedule maintenance, and reduce maintenance costs and down time. Prognosis is a relatively new area but has become an important part of Condition-based Maintenance (CBM) of systems. Broadly stated, prognostic methods are either data-driven, rule based, or model-based. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages; consequently, they are often combined in hybrid applications. A hybrid model can combine some or all model types; thus, more complete information can be gathered, leading to more accurate recognition of the fault state. In this context, it is important to evaluate the consistency and reliability of the measurement data obtained during laboratory testing and the prognostic/diagnostic monitoring of the system under examination.This approach is especially relevant in systems where the maintainer and operator know some of the failure mechanisms with a sufficient amount of data, but the sheer complexity of the assets precludes the development of a complete model-based approach. This paper addresses the process of data aggregation into a contextual awareness hybrid model to get Residual Useful Life (RUL) values within logical confidence intervals so that the life cycle of assets can be managed and optimised.

In this paper, it was discussed on the several reliability prediction models for electronic components and comparison of these methods was also illustrated. A combined methodology for comparing the cost incurring for prediction was designed and implemented with an instrumentation amplifier and a BJT transistor. By using the physics of failure approach, the dominant stress parameters were selected on basis of research study and were subjected to both instrumentation amplifier and BJT transistor. The procedure was implemented using the methodology specified in this paper and modeled the performance parameters accordingly. From the prescribed failure criteria, mean time to failure was calculated for both the components. Similarly, using 217 plus reliability prediction book, MTTF was also calculated and compared with the prediction using physics of failure. Then, the costing implications of both the components were discussed and compared them.

From the results, it was concluded that for critical components like instrumentation amplifier though the initial cost of physics of failure prediction is too high, the total cost incurred including the penalty costs were lower than that of traditional reliability prediction method. But for non-critical components like BJT transistor, the total cost of physics of failure approach was too higher than traditional approach and hence traditional approach was much efficient. Several other factors were also compared for both reliability prediction methods.

Reliability prediction of the electronic components used in industrial safety systems requires high accuracy and compatibility with the working environment. The traditional reliability prediction methods that draw on standard handbooks such as MIL-HDBK 217F, Telcordia, PRISM etc., are not appropriate to determine the reliability indices of these components. For one thing, technology is constantly advancing; for another, the empirical data do not always match the actual working environment.The newest reliability prediction methodology, the physics-of-failure (PoF), emphasizes the root cause of failure, failure analysis, and failure mechanisms based on the analysis of parameter characteristics. It involves a focused examination of failure point locations, considering the fabrication technology, process, materials and circuit layout obtained from the manufacturer. This methodology is capable of providing recommendations for the increased reliability of components using intuitive analysis.However, there is a limitation: it is sometimes difficult to obtain manufacturer’s details for failure analysis and quality information. Several statistical and probability modeling methods can be performed on the experimental data of these components to measure the time to failure. These experiments can be conducted using the accelerated-testing of dominant stress parameters such as Voltage, Current, Temperature, Radiation etc.In this thesis, the combination of qualitative data from PoF approach and quantitative data from the statistical analysis is used to create a modified physics-of-failure approach. This methodology overcomes the limitations of the standard PoF approach as it involves detailed analysis of stress factors, data modeling and prediction. A decision support system is created to select the best option from failure data models, failure mechanisms, failure criteria and other factors to ensure a growth in reliability.In this study, the critical electronic components used in certain safety systems from different technologies are chosen for reliability prediction: Optocoupler, Constant Fraction Discriminator, BJT Transistor, Voltage Comparator, Voltage Follower and Instrumentation amplifier. The study finds that the modified physics-of-failure methodology provides more accurate reliability indices than the traditional approaches using field data. Stress based degradation models are developed for each of the components. The modified PoF models developed using Response Surface Regression and Support Vector Machine (SVM) show better performance.

Prediction of reliability is essentially required for design for reliability, warranty periods, life cycle costs and maintenance with prior to the installation of components. Reliability prediction of electronics advances from an era of military standard books, Telcordia, PRISM, Bell Core etc. to the physics of failure approach.

Most of the limitations of constant failure methods are being encounter by the PoF approach due to its advanced methodology of finding failure mechanisms by root cause of failure analysis. But this approach has its own challenges as it requires detailed information on materials, process, technology and other specifications and at most of the times this data is confidential from the industries. On the other hand, probability and statistics methods provide quantitative data with reliability indices from testing by experimentation and by simulations.

In this paper, qualitative data from PoF approach and quantitative data from the statistical analysis is combined to form a modified physics of failure approach. This methodology overcomes some of the challenges faced by PoF approach as it involves detailed analysis of stress factors, data modeling and prediction. A decision support system is added to this approach to choose the best option from different failure data models, failure mechanisms, failure criteria and other factors