ELECTROTEHNIC, ELECTRONIC, AUTOMATIC, vol. 61, nr.

1, ianuarie-martie 2013

35

Ways to Improve the Products Durability

Titu-Marius I. BJENESCU
Abstract
The management of products is increasingly moving towards the use of risk and durability-/reliability-based
criteria. Durability is measured by life before wearout, whereas reliability is measured by operating life and the
number of chance failures. Durability can use material properties that you define in the material data system
software to evaluate strength and fatigue results. Tribological effects are today expressed on different
geometrical scales, all the way from nanotribology even up to teratribology. Some examples for improving
electronic and mechanical products durability are given.
Keywords: Durability allocation, analysis, and evaluation, reliability, dependability, RAMS, fault, error, failure,
universal mechanism, tribology

1. Introduction
Durability is usually defined by the length
of the failure free or maintenance free
operational period. The basic assumption is
that all failures are caused by mechanical
/thermal stresses applied, and that there are
no failures before the end of the failure free
period (useful life) is reached.
Durability allocation is an important part
of durability design in the mechanical
system. Whether durability allocation is
reasonable or not directly impacts the
pertinence and validity of maintenance.
When designing durability, lifetime data of
components is necessary. The way to
obtain lifetime is normally through test which
takes so long and cost so much, so that it
cannot be adopted at initial stage. Tracked
vehicles' moving system is taken as study
target. Fatigue life of key parts that is
necessary in durability distribution of
mechanical system is predicted using virtual
simulation [1].
Normally, the durability distribution of
moving system is analyzed by the predicted
life, which presents a scientific method of
distributing durability in the design process.
Durability analysis (DA): Determination of
whether or not the mechanical strength of a
product will remain adequate for its
expected life. DA is used to determine
cycles to failure or to determine wearout

Titu-Marius I. BJENESCU: Prof., Doctor Honoris Causa of

Military Technical Academy of Romania and of Technical
University of Republic of Moldova; CFC, La Conversion,
Switzerland; e-mail: tmbajenesco@bluewin.ch

characteristics; it is especially important for

mechanical products. DA is not a new idea
for mechanical systems, as it has been used
to determine safety margins for bridges,
aircraft wings and many other items for
numerous years. DA is a new concept for
designing robust electronics which have
classically been designed using only
probabilistic reliability techniques.
Durability and probabilistic durability do
not have the same design concept nor are
they measured the same way. Durability is
measured by life before wearout, whereas
reliability is measured by operating life and
the number of chance failures. These
differing concepts are better understood
using the classical bathtub curve for
electronic components.
The DA combines the stress time history
information generated during series of
numerical experiments in UM8 and the
material fatigue strength characteristics to
generate the predicted life distribution in the
part.
Any DA relies on three key inputs: stress
loading data (time history of the stresses),
material data that describes how the
material reacts to repeated stress
application at various stress levels, and
parameters of durability the calculation
method [4].

UM (Universal Mechanism) is a recognized tool for

simulation of railway vehicle dynamics [2, 3] which is widely
used for simulation of all types of railway vehicles: diesel
and electric locomotives, freight and passenger car, as well
as special railway machines. The special module for
durability analysis was recently developed within UM.

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ELECTROTEHNIC, ELECTRONIC, AUTOMATIC, vol. 61, Nr. 1, ianuarie-martie 2013

2. Some useful definitions [5, 6]

Fault: An incorrect step, process, or data
definition in a computer program, which
causes the program to perform in an
unintended or unanticipated manner. It is
an inherent weakness of the design or
implementation, which might result in a
failure. These faults lead to a failure when
the exact scenario is met.
Error: A discrepancy among a computed,
observed, or measured value or
condition, and the true, specified, or
theoretically correct value or condition.
Failure: The inability of a system or
component to perform its required
functions within specified performance
requirements.
Faults, errors and failures operate
according to a mechanism. This mechanism
is sometimes known as a fault-error-failure
chain.
As a general rule a fault, when activated,
can lead to an error (which is an invalid
state) and the invalid state generated by an
error may lead to another error or a failure
(which is an observable deviation from the
specified behaviour at the system
boundary). Once a fault is activated an error
is created.
An error may act in the same way as a
fault in that it can create further error
conditions, therefore an error may
propagate multiple times within a system
boundary without causing an observable
failure. If an error propagates outside the
system boundary, a failure is said to occur.
A failure is basically the point at which it
can be said that a service is failing to meet
its specification. Since the output data from
one service may be fed into another, a
failure in one service may propagate into
another service as a fault so a chain can be
formed of the form: fault leading to error
leading to failure leading to error, etc.
Since the mechanism of a fault-errorchain is understood, it is possible to
construct means to break these chains and
thereby increase the dependability of a
system. Four means have been identified so
far: prevention9, removal, forecasting,
tolerance.
9

Fault prevention deals with preventing faults being

incorporated into a system. This can be accomplished by
use
of
development
methodologies
and
good
implementation techniques.

Failure mechanism: The physical, chemical

or metallurgical process that causes a
failure.
Fatigue: The weakening of a material under
repeated stress.
Hazard: A condition that is prerequisite to a
mishap. Preventing injury or death to
personnel begins with identifying potential
hazards.
Hazard probability: The aggregate probability
of occurrence of the individual events that
creates a specific hazard.
Hazardous material: Any material which due
to its chemical, biological or physical
nature causes safety, public health, or
environmental concerns.
Mishap: An unplanned event or series of
events that result in death, injury,
occupational illness, or damage to or loss
of equipment or property or damage to
the environment. Also: an accident.
Risk: An expression of the probability of the
mishap in terms of hazard severity and
hazard probability.
Risk
assessment:
A
comprehensive
evaluation of the risk and its associated
impact.
3. Durability evaluation
Durability can use material properties
that one defines in the material data system
software to evaluate strength and fatigue
results. Many of these properties are
specific to DA. The table 1 lists the material
properties used for various durability
evaluations [7].
Table 1. Material properties for various durability
evaluations (conf. UGS Corp. [7])
Durability
Material properties
evaluation
Strength evaluation Yield stress or Ultimate strength
Maximum alternating stress (fatigue
Cyclic strength
limit) that won't cause fatigue damage.
evaluation
Ultimate strength
Modulus of elasticity
10
ASME fatigue
Ultimate strength
evaluation
% reduction in area
Modulus of elasticity
Fatigue strength coefficient
Stress life fatigue
Fatigue strength exponent
evaluation
Yield stress (Steerer method)
Ultimate strength (Goodman or Gerber
method)
Modulus of elasticity
Fatigue strength coefficient
Strain life fatigue
Fatigue strength exponent
evaluation
Fatigue ductility coefficient
Fatigue ductility exponent
10

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ELECTROTEHNIC, ELECTRONIC, AUTOMATIC, vol. 61, nr. 1, ianuarie-martie 2013

Durability
evaluation

Material properties

Modulus of elasticity
Fatigue strength coefficient
Fatigue strength exponent
Fatigue ductility coefficient
Fatigue ductility exponent
Properties defined by user-defined
stress S-N function
Yield stress (Soderberg method)
User-defined stress
Ultimate strength (Goodman or
fatigue evaluation
Goldberg method)
Fatigue strength coefficient (Morrow
method)
User-defined strain Properties defined by user-defined
fatigue evaluation
strain S-N function
Smith-WatsonTopper fatigue
evaluation

Although one does not need the fatigue

material properties for the finite element
(FE) analysis, one may want to define them
for the FE model, if it will be used for DA.
Durability-specific material properties can
also be defined independently from the FE
model. In durability, one can enter specific
values for material properties, when
preparing to evaluate strength and fatigue
(cyclic) strength. To evaluate fatigue results,
one can also create a durability-specific
material that is different from the FE
material. However, this may be inconvenient
if there are more than one material in the FE
model for DA.

37

manufacturing processes employed, waste

and affluent control and usage of products,
systems and services.
Reliability, availability, maintainability and
safety (RAMS) management of a product,
its components and the production
resources and processes employed, is a
key activity which cannot be separated from
other product performance control or
programme
management.
RAMS
management is to be considered as a
whole, and it is a preponderant part of
RAMS activities to coordinate the required
trade-offs between the corresponding
aptitudes for obtaining a product that is
robust with respect to the specified
undesirable events: reliability versus
availability, dependability (RAM) versus
safety, etc.
As a didactical example, in Figure 1, the
influence of railway RAMS11 on quality of
service is shown.

4. Improved methods, robustness,

performability and efficiency
There is an increasing need for improved
methods of determining the reliability and
predicting the lifetime of machines and
production systems more accurately. The
conceptions of robustness and robust
design are still new to the manufacturing
industry. Moreover, their role and position in
relation to conceptions like quality and
reliability have yet to be established.
Performability engineering offers a
framework for generating scientific research
and its application in the area of
dependability and sustainability, not only to
optimize the performance of the products,
systems and services, but also to optimize
processes that produce them.
It becomes obvious that the problems of
dependability and sustainability cannot be
considered in isolation, as they are closely
interlinked and they must be fine tuned at
every stage of life cycle activities which
include design, manufacture, use and
disposal. More so, in fact, since
dependability is strongly influenced by the
raw materials, fabrication techniques and

Figure 1. Influence of railway RAMS on quality of service

(adapted from EN 50126:2001)

Embedded systems are more and more

complex. It presents opportunities for
development
error
and
undesirable,
unintended effects.
For complex systems, it could be not
possible /practical to test exhaustively and
to demonstrate there is no development
error. Since these errors are generally not
deterministic
and
suitable
numerical
methods for characterizing them are not
available, other qualitative means should be
used to establish that the system can satisfy
safety objectives.
Data collection and failure analysis are
essential for several reasons:
11

The RAMS of the railway system is influenced in three

ways: (i) by sources of failure introduced internally within the
system at any phase of the system life cycle (system
conditions); (ii) by sources of failure imposed on the system
during operation (operating conditions); (iii) by sources of
failure imposed on the system during maintenance activities
(maintenance conditions).

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38

identify design deficiency for new

product (or not new);
improve RAMS criteria when they are
not reached;
demonstrate
these criteria during
development or in service;
adjust logistic support;
contribute
towards
global
cost
management.
Therefore, it is used for development tests
and in service. It is necessary to define an
efficient process.

5. Some representative examples in

electronics
The paper [8] presents a durability
analysis of two types of cooper lead frame,
i.e. the un-oxidized lead frame and the
oxidized lead frame. Both lead frame types
were used in the fabrication process of a
QFN (Quad Flat No-lead) package which
can be used as a recent type of the 3D
stacked die semiconductor package.
The study involved the durability test and
analysis of QFN packages, when these
packages were subjected under constant
cycle loadings. In order to perform the cycle
test, the procedure of the three-point cycle
bending test has been employed on the
packages. In addition, a strain gauge, which
was connected to the dynamic data
acquisition system was used for each tested
QFN package for determining the response
of the captured cyclic strain signal.
It has been found that the variable
amplitude pattern of signal response has
been obtained during the constant cyclic
test. The obtained response signals for both
types of lead frame were then analyzed
using the approaches of signal processing
technique, which is relatively new in the
field. The collected response signal was
analyzed using the normal statistical
methods, the power spectrum density (PSD)
calculation and also the time-frequency
localization analysis. From the detail signal
analysis, it has been found that the unoxidized lead frame showed a lower range
of strain response compared to the oxidized
lead frame, indicating higher lifetime. As a
result, this finding leads to the durability
conclusion, for which the un-oxidized lead
frame has more durability and it also has
higher lifetime compared to the oxidized
lead frame.

Finally, a micro crack phenomenon at the

epoxy interface between the die and the
lead frame was also observed for the QFN
package with the oxidized lead frame [8].
The paper [9] presents a global-local
methodology for predicting mechanical
deformation and fatigue durability of solder
joints in electronic packaging systems
subject to cyclic thermal loading.
It involves a global deformation analysis,
a local critical solder-joint analysis, and a
fatigue life analysis. The global deformation
analysis includes a new optimization
formulation for determining an equivalent
model. The methodology developed was
applied to fine pitch ball grid array (fpBGA)
and super ball grid array (SBGA) packages.
Selective experimental efforts were also
undertaken to evaluate the predicted
deformation characteristics of the fpBGA
package. A good agreement was obtained
between the simulated deformation results
and experimental observations. For the
durability analysis, the total fatigue life
predicted using the energy-based method is
larger than 2500 cycles - a trend observed
experimentally for both packages entailing
widely different designs.
Based on proposed modelling and
simulation results and package designs
studied, the SBGA package is more durable
than the fpBGA package [9].
Georgia Tech engineers have led a fiveyear project that has developed a new
approach to space electronics, which has
the potential to change how space vehicles
and other valuable instruments are
designed.
At the centre of these developments are
silicon-germanium (SiGe) based technologies
that enable resistance to changing
temperatures and space radiation in
electronics. The team's overall task was to
develop an end-to-end solution for NASA
a tested infrastructure that includes
everything needed to design and build
extreme-environment electronics for space
missions. Silicon-germanium combines
silicon and germanium (at the nanoscale
level), and produces a tough material that
also improves speed, flexibility and
robustness. That robustness is the essence
of SiGe, as it gives the material the ability to
operate in space conditions without adding
large radiation shields and power draining

ELECTROTEHNIC, ELECTRONIC, AUTOMATIC, vol. 61, nr. 1, ianuarie-martie 2013

temperature controlling units. Its lighter,

smaller, less complex and more energy
efficient. The team used a mature silicongermanium technology IBM's 0.5 micron
SiGe technology that was not intended to
withstand deep-space conditions. Without
changing the composition of the underlying
silicon-germanium transistors, the team
leveraged SiGe's natural merits to develop
new circuit designs - as well as new
approaches to packaging the final circuits to produce an electronic system that could
reliably withstand the extreme conditions of
space [10].
Samsung is following Apples strategy
with the Galaxy S line: a phone that isnt
completely cutting edge, but has a list of
compelling features at a competitive price,
creating a recipe for retail success.
Samsung uses a PenTile AMOLED
screen as opposed to a traditional redgreen-blue (RGB) screen in the Galaxy S3.
PenTile screens arrange the pixels in redgreen-blue-green subpixels, instead of the
RGB format of a traditional screen. This
extra green pixel allows for fairly accurate
colour reproduction in about 2/3rds of the
subpixels, and the result is a thinner profile
screen. Samsung went for thin with the
Galaxy S3, and its likely that the PenTile
AMOLED helped meet those design
objectives. PenTile has its issues, with the
most common complaint being sharpness.
Users complain that text clarity is a little
off, and the edges of some screen objects
have odd colouring at times. Samsung
rejects these criticisms, and says it has
good reason for its decision: durability and
longevity. On durability, Samsung marketing
chief Philip Berne told Mobileburn that the
blue pixel is the first subpixel to degrade in a
display. This means a deterioration in the
screen of an RGB display will be more
pronounced, and since PenTile screens
have
more
subpixel
density,
the
deterioration is less noticeable there. The
higher pixel density also gives AMOLED
displays better visual appeal and viewing
angles that many notice first before the
sharpness or clarity issues. Berne realizes
his company is selling phones to people
who need to keep them for a longer term
(two years and sometimes more), so the
durability issue plays right into Samsungs
concerns about longevity [11].

39

A new class of knowledge-based,

Automated Design Analysis (ADA) CAE
tools for performing Physics of Failure (PoF)
durability
simulations
and
reliability
assessments for ensuring structural integrity
of electronic modules has been developed.
This new CAE program is called Sherlock
Automated Design Analysis (ADA) for its
ability to investigate a design and identify if
it is susceptible to failure mechanisms
related to the intended usage environment
of the application. The Sherlock ADA
program is a powerful durability simulation
and reliability assessment CAE tool suite
that integrates PoF stress analysis and
failure mechanism modelling to rapidly
provide durability simulations capabilities for
electronic products. The highly automated
model creation capabilities were designed to
allow it to be used by a wide range of
engineering
and
design
personnel
interactively with the creation of a new
design. This enables a physics based
understanding of product reliability and
optimization opportunities early in the
design cycle [12]. Examples of real-world
failures that this type of analysis can detect
and prevent are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Examples of typical circuit board structural

failures (conf. [12]):
(a) a cracked copper barrel wall in a signal
carrying plated through hole via (left),
(b) a solder attachment crack at a surface
mount resistor (center) and
(c) a solder ball crack in a BGA integrated
circuit (right).

6. Service life of mechanical systems

In the US Army, the mechanical fatigue
subject to external and inertia transient
loads in the service life of mechanical
systems often leads to a structural failure
due to accumulated damage.
Structural DA that predicts the fatigue life
of mechanical components subject to
dynamic stresses and strains is a compute
intensive
multidisciplinary
simulation
process, since it requires the integration of
several computer-aided engineering tools
and considerable data communication and
computation.

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Uncertainties in geometric dimensions

due to manufacturing tolerances cause the
indeterministic nature of the fatigue life of a
mechanical component. Due to the fact that
uncertainty propagation to structural fatigue
under transient dynamic loading is not only
numerically complicated but also extremely
computationally
expensive,
it
is
a
challenging task to develop a structural
durability-based design optimization process
and reliability analysis to ascertain whether
the optimal design is reliable. The objective
of the paper [13] is the demonstration of an
integrated
CAD-based
computer-aided
engineering (CAE) process to effectively
carry out design optimization for structural
durability, yielding a durable and costeffectively manufacturable product. The
paper shows preliminary results of reliabilitybased durability design optimization for the
Army Stryker A-Arm [13].
A piston in a Diesel engine is subject to
the high pressure and the high thermal load.
The high structural reliability is required to
the piston in the automotive diesel engine
and it is important to confirm the design
parameters of piston in initial design stage.
There are lots of research works proposing
new
geometries,
materials
and
manufacturing techniques for engine
pistons. But, the failures of piston occur
frequently in development stage. Failure
mechanisms are mainly fatigue related. The
paper [14] presents failure mechanisms of
the high cycle fatigue and low cycle thermal
fatigue cracks which occur on the piston
during durability test using engine
dynamometer. In this study, FE analysis
was carried out to investigate the root cause
of piston failure. The analysis includes the
FE model of the piston moving system,
temperature dependent material properties,
mechanical and thermal loadings. The
results show that the crack on the flame
position is caused by the stress amplitude
during the full-load test. The crack at the rim
on the thrust axes is due to the large
compressive plastic strain amplitude
generated in the thermal shock test. It
shows a good agreement between
numerical and experimental results [14].
One important subject is the numerical
computation of the microscopic stress-strain
behavior and effective material properties of
composite or porous materials. The team of

Orlik [15] apply homogenization methods

which allow for the computation of average
(effective) elastic, viscoelastic, and plastic
material properties, accounting for the
microstructure and the different constitutive
laws. The computation of effective free
temperature deformation, swelling, and
shrinkage is also possible.
The second subject deals with contact
problems with micro-rough surfaces, which
can also be solved by homogenization
methods.
Finally, within the third problem complex
are considered time-dependent processes
for composite bodies, whose macro strength
and durability are examined with respect to
fatigue, creep strain, impact load, and wear
[15].
Automotive electronics systems are
becoming increasing complex and essential
to the proper and safe operation of cars and
trucks as vehicle controls for basic operation
and safety functions are increasingly being
implemented by electronic modules. The
ability of these electronic systems to
function reliably is becoming a greater
aspect of vehicle safety that was
dramatically demonstrated by the 20092011 recall of over 9 million Toyota vehicles
for unintended acceleration issues. While
electronic reliability issues were widely
suspected but eventually ruled out as a root
cause, the crisis revealed the challenges of
evaluating, validating and investigating the
reliability and safety assurance aspect of
modern, distributed and interactive vehicle
controls systems that are equally taxing on
OEMs, electronic system suppliers and
regulators [12].
Lithium-ion batteries are widely used to
power devices from electric vehicles to
portable electronics because they can store
a relatively large amount of energy in a
relatively lightweight package. The battery
works by controlling the flow of lithium ions
through a fluid electrolyte between its two
terminals, called the anode and cathode.
For more than a decade, scientists have
tried to improve lithium-based batteries by
replacing the graphite in one terminal with
silicon, which can store 10 times more
charge.
But
after
just
a
few
charge/discharge
cycles,
the
silicon
structure would crack and crumble,
rendering the battery useless.

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Recently a team led by materials scientist

Yi Cui of Stanford University and SLAC
National Accelerator Laboratory [16] has
found a solution: his latest design consists
(Figure 3) of a double-walled silicon
nanotube coated with a thin layer of silicon
oxide, a very tough ceramic material that
can be elastically stretched for an energy
density 10 times greater than that of current
lithium-ion batteries, with the additional
advantages of long cycling durability,
temperature insensitivity, no spontaneous
discharge, and arbitrary discharge rate.

Figure 3. Double-walled carbon nanostructures (conf.

[16]).

This strong outer layer keeps the outside

wall of the nanotube from expanding, so it
stays intact. Instead, the silicon swells
harmlessly into the hollow interior, which is
also too small for electrolyte molecules to
enter. After the first charging cycle, it
operates for more than 6,000 cycles with
85 percent capacity remaining far more than
needed by electric vehicles or mobile
electronics. This is a very exciting
development toward the goal of creating
smaller, lighter and longer-lasting batteries
than are available today [16].
A discovery by a research team at North
Dakota State University, Fargo, and the
National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), shows that the flexibility
and durability of carbon nanotube films and
coatings are intimately linked to their
electronic properties. The research could
one day impact flexible electronic devices
such as solar cells and wearable sensors.
The research also provided a promising
young high school student the chance to
work in the lab with world-class scientists,
jumpstarting her potential scientific career.
The durability of the suspension system
is a critical component in the development
of a vehicle because it is consistently and
directly exposed to dynamic loads while the
vehicle is in motion. In most cases, attempts
are made to improve the durability of a
vehicle suspension system by changing the
shapes of its parts and components.
However, the authors of paper [17] propose
to
improve
the
overall
durability

41

performance of a vehicle suspension

system by modifying the compliance of the
elastomeric bushings, which pivotally
connect the lower control arm to the vehicle
frame. It is relatively easy and cost effective
to change the compliance of the bushing
components because they are made of
rubber or elastomeric materials. The
following procedure was used for the
presented analysis.
Firstly, dynamic loads were obtained
based on a multi-body dynamic analysis
while the vehicle was driven on a virtual
proving ground test.
Secondly, the stress distribution of the
vehicle suspension system was calculated
using FE analysis to obtain an optimal
combination of the elastomeric bushing
compliance and provide the maximum
improvement to the stress distribution on the
basis of a robust design approach.
Finally, the durability performance of
each component in the vehicle suspension
system was evaluated using quasi-static
durability analyses. The fatigue life of the
optimal model was improved by 36-39 per
cent when the knuckle and lower control
arm passed over bumps, and by 30-41 per
cent when they passed over potholes. The
proposed optimal design process to improve
the elastomeric bushing compliance made it
easy to evaluate and improve the durability
performance of the vehicle suspension
system in the initial stages of the vehicle
development process [17].
7. Conclusions
There is an increasing need for improved
methods to determining the reliability and
predicting the lifetime of machines and
production systems more accurately.
The importance of tribology in the large
and complex scope of reliability engineering,
and the different tribology-related methods
to improve reliability, such as reliability
design, component lifetime, condition
monitoring and diagnostics are essential. To
be of value for reliability estimations, the
tribological data should be expressed in
terms of endurance life and probability of
failure. Tribological effects are today
expressed on different geometrical scales,
all the way from nanotribology even up to
teratribology.
However, the required task of scaling-up
of our knowledge from nano- and
microtribology level will perhaps need other,
more non-linear approaches than the strict
reductionism
to
which
we
are
accustomed [18].

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8. References
[1] Sun Wei, Study on durability allocation of
mechanical system technique based on
virtual
prototyping,
8th
International
Conference on Reliability, Maintainability and
Safety, 20-24 July 2009. ICRMS 2009, pp.
930-933.
[2] Lysikov, N., Stress load and durability
analysis of railway vehicles using multibody
approach,
http://transportproblems.polsl.pl/
pl/Archiwum/2007/zeszyt3/2007t2z3_06.pdf
[3] Nichols ., System Reliability Toolkit, RIAC,
2005, ISBN-10 1-933904-00-3, 872 pages.
[4] CEN Workshop 10 European Handbook for
Defence Procurement, Expert Group 17:
Dependability & Safety, Expert Group 17:
Dependability & Safety, Final Report,
Brussels, June 30, 2011.
[5] Defining Material Properties Used for
Durability Analysis, 2006, http://www.kxcad.
net/ugs/SDRC_I-DEAS_NX_series_Help_
Library/dur_ug/define_mat_dur.htm
[6] Sharung, A., et al., Failure Analysis of a
Semiconductor Packaging Leadframe Using
the Signal Processing Approach, Internat. J.
of Modern Physics B, Vol. 24, Issue 01n02
(2010), p. 175.
[7] http://www.utgjiu.ro/cercetare/fdsm/Simpozio
n/Format%20lucrare.html
[8] Zhang, T., et al., A global-local approach for
mechanical deformation and fatigue durability
of microelectronic packaging systems, J. of
Electronic Packaging, Vol. 129 (2007), No. 2,
pp. 179-189.
[9] http://www.coe.gatech.edu/content/sigeimprove-durability-space-electronics
[10]Oswald, Ed, Samsung: The Galaxy S3s
PenTile screen is all about longevity, May,
11,
2012,
http://www.extremetech.com
/electronics/129247-samsung-says-galaxys3-screen-longevity
[11]McLeish, J. G., Automotive Electronics,
http://autoelectronics.com/security_safety/phy
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7. Biography
Titu I. BJENESCU was born in
Cmpina (Romania) on April 2, 1933;
he received his engineering training at
the Polytechnic Institute Bucharest. He
served for the first 5 years in the Army
Research Institute, including tours on
radio and telecommunications
maintenance, and in the reliability, safety and
maintainability office of the Ministry of Defence (main
base ground facilities). Experience: R&D: design and
manufacture of experimental equipment for army
research institute and for air defence system. He
joined Brown Boveri (today: Asea Brown Boveri)
Baden (Switzerland) in 1969, as research and
development engineer. Experience: R&D: design and
manufacture of new industrial equipment for
telecommunications. In 1974 he joined Hasler
Limited (today: Ascom) Berne as Reliability Manager
(recruitment
by
competitive
examination).
Experience: Set up QRA and R&M teams.
Developed policies, procedures and training.
Managed QRA and R&M programmes. As QRA
Manager monitoring and reporting on production
quality and in-service reliability. As Switzerland
official, contributed to development of new ITU and
IEC standards. In 1981 he joined Messtechnik und
Optoelektronik (Neuchtel, Switzerland, and Haar,
West Germany), a subsidiary of MesserschmittBlkow-Blohm (MBB) Munich, as Quality and
Reliability Manager (recruitment by competitive
examination). Experience: Product Assurance
Manager of intelligent cables. Managed applied
research on reliability (electronic components,
system analysis methods, test methods, etc.). Since
1985 he has worked as an independent consultant
and
international
expert
on
engineering
management, telecommunications, reliability, quality
and safety. Mr. Bjenescu is the author of many
technical books - published in English, French,
German and Romanian. He is university professor
and has written many papers and articles on modern
telecommunications, and on quality and reliability
engineering and management; he lectures as invited
professor, visiting lecturer or speaker at European
universities and other venues on these subjects.
Since 1991 he won many Awards and Distinctions,
presented by the Romanian Academy, Romanian
Society for Quality, Romanian Engineers Association
etc. for his contribution to reliability science and
technology.