Optimal design of accelerated life testing plans for periodical replacement with penalty

Accelerated life testing (ALT), enhanced by optimal test plans, has been widely accepted in practice as a quick approach for estimating the reliability of a product. From the estimation result, preventive maintenance schedules can be determined to ensure the performance of the product under its normal operating conditions. By default, maintenance decision‐making is regarded as the last and least rewarding step. However, sometimes the maintenance schedules, such as preventive maintenance intervals, are predetermined due to customer concerns and/or by various mandatory regulations and rules. Under such circumstances, how to accurately estimate the expenditure (e.g., on maintenance or spare parts management) associated with these maintenance requirements becomes an important issue. A viable solution is to incorporate the maintenance requirements into ALT plans. This paper provides an approach for the optimal design of ALT plans oriented by a mandatory periodical replacement schedule subject to a discounted penalty. The objective is to improve the estimation accuracy of the economic impact of this maintenance requirement. A numerical experiment is provided to demonstrate the approach in practical use. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 2009