Accelerated Life Testing Services
Closeup of probes of the multimeter
What is accelerated life testing (ALT)?
Accelerated life testing is a technique used to evaluate the reliability and durability of a product through accelerated aging testing to ensure the product functions as intended throughout its life cycle.
Why is accelerated life testing used?
Accelerated life testing is used to evaluate the influence of when a product is exposed to various environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and light to ensure the product will remain within acceptable quality standards under extreme or accelerated conditions.
What is partially accelerated life testing?
Partially accelerated life testing is a combination of standard life testing and accelerated life testing.
While accelerated life testing evaluates the product under extreme or accelerated conditions, standard
life testing is performed to test the product under normal or expected usage conditions. This simulation
of real-life scenarios provides insights into product limitations and performance under typical operating
environments, and allows product manufacturers to estimate a product’s expected lifespan and failure
rates.
What is the difference between ALT and HALT testing?
While accelerated life testing (ALT) evaluates the product under extreme or accelerated conditions,
highly accelerated life testing (HALT) evaluates the product under highly extreme conditions, typically
more severe environmental stresses such as temperature, vibration, and rapid thermal transitions. The
purpose of HALT testing is to help identify product weaknesses and opportunities to resolve design
failures early in the product development process.
STERIS Offers:
STERIS has the capability to simulate and accelerate the conditions a product may experience
throughout its life cycle. Our reliability test methods are based on both international test standards and custom-developed test
plans. These are designed to simulate the worst case conditions a product will be subjected to over its
lifecycle and can be paired with further Customer-specific testing to ensure that the product remains
reliable and functional.
Relevant standards include:
- IEC 60068 (Environmental testing)
- IEC 60601 (Medical electrical equipment and systems)
- IEC 61010 (Safety requirements for electrical equipment for measurement, control, and laboratory use)
- IEC 60529, ISO 20653, (Degrees of protection provided by enclosures)
Temperature and humidity testing:
- Steady state and cyclic profiles
- Combined temperature and humidity
- Combined temperature and vibration
- Dry and damp heat
- Cold temperature
Mechanical shock testing:
- Dynamic shock and bump
- Sawtooth, half sine, and trapezoidal shock
- Fixture design and fabrication
Vibration testing:
- Sinusoidal and random
- Combined temperature and vibration
- Fixture design and fabrication
Thermal shock testing:
- Air-to-air thermal shock (automated transfer)
Vacuum testing:
- Negative pressure conditioning
Ingress protection (IP) testing:
- Water (IPX1, IPX2)
- Probes (IP1X, IP2X, IP3X, IP4X)
Impact testing:
- IK testing
- Drop and topple (free fall)
Technical Support
Our technical support team can also offer guidance in:
- Design review
- Risk assessment review
- Identifying suitable standards
- Developing custom test methods/equipment to challenge a product
- Technical file support
Related content:
TechTip: HALT testing case study
TechTalk: Testing validation TechTalk webinars