A111Q3 Qtbbfll \ V) NBS SPECIAL PUBLICATION 514 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Bureau of Standards Product Durability and Life MFPG 27th Meeting WATIONAL BURBAtJ OF STANDARDS JjIBflARY MFPG Product Durability and Life Proceedings of the 27th Meeting of the Mechanical Failures Prevention Group, held at the National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, Maryland, November 1-3, 1977 Edited by . T. Robert Shives and William A. Willard National Measurement Laboratory National Bureau of Standards Washington, DC 20234 The 27th meeting of the MFPG and these proceedings were sponsored by the Institute for Materials Research and the Cen- ter for Consumer Product Technology of the National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC 20234; the Office of Naval Research, Department of the Navy, Arlington, VA 22217; the Naval Air Development Center, Department of the Navy, Warminster, PA 18974; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771; and the Department of Energy-Fossil Energy, Washington, DC 20545. This work was co-sponsored by the Institute for Materials Research prior to the NBS reorganization effective April 9, 1978. The Institute for Materials Research is now included in the National Measurement Laboratory of NBS. * Qin U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Juanita M. Kreps, Secretary Dr. Sidney Harman, Under Secretary Jordan J. Baruch, Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Annbler, Director Issued May 1978 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Mechanical Failures Prevention Group. MFPG, product durability and life. (National Bureau of Standards Special publication ; 514) "Sponsored by the Institute for Materials Research . [et asl.]." Supt.ofDocs.no.: C13. 10:514 1. Durable goods, Consumer-Reliability—Congresses. 2. Durable goods. Consumer—Testing—Congresses. I. Shives, T. R. II. Willard, William A. III. Title. IV. Title: Product durability and life. V. Series; United States. National Bureau of Standards. Special publications ; 514. QC100.U57 no. 514 [TS173] 602'.ls [658.5'6] 78-606044 National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 514 Nat. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), Spec. Publ. 514, 188 pages (May 1978) CODEN: XNBSAV U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1978 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 Stock No. 003-003-01935-6 Price $3.75 (Add 25 percent additional for other than U.S. mailing). FOREWORD The 27th meeting of the Mechanical Failures Prevention Group was held November 1-3, 1977, at the National Bureau of Standards in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The program was organized by the MFPG committee on Mechanisms of Failure under the Chairmanship of Marshal Peterson of the Office of Technology Assessment, United States Congress. In addition to the members of the Mechanisms of Failure Committee, Kenneth C. Ludema of the University of Michigan, and A. William Ruff and Andrew J. Fowell of the National Bureau of Standards, made significant contributions in devel- oping the program. All those involved with planning the program, and especially the speakers, are to be commended for producing an excellent meeting. Most of the papers in these proceedings are presented as submitted by the author on camera ready copy with some minor editorial changes. Special thanks are due Sara R. Torrence of the NBS Office of Information Activities for the meeting arrangements. Appreciation is extended to the following members of the NBS Metallurgy Division: T. Robert Shives and William A. Willard for their editing, organization and preparation of the proceedings, Paul M. Fleming for handling financial matters, Todd Eudy and Leonard C. Smith for photo- graphic work, Marian L. Slusser for typing, and to other members of the Division whose help contributed to the success of the meeting. HARRY C. BURNETT Executive Secretary, MFPG Metallurgy Division National Bureau of Standards III . TABLE OF CONTENTS Page FOREWORD III SESSION I: PRODUCT DURABILITY ISSUES 1 Opportunities and Implications of Extending Product 3 Life. Robert T. Lund and William Michael Denney* 2. Economic Considerations and Product Life, Paul .Lerman 12 3. Technical Durability of Products. Elio Passaglia (abstract only, see Appendix A) 4. Labeling Products for Durability. Mark J. Raabe 19 SESSION II: PRODUCT TESTING 1 Methodology of Product Life Testing. Julius Cohen 31 2. Small Appliance Life Testing. Kenneth W. Yee 42 3. Product Life Testing and Durability. N. R. Pugh 54 4. Hydraulic Pump Contaminant Life Evaluation. L. E. Bensch 66 5. Control of Design Quality. Andrew W. Dorney 76 6. Factors Affecting Product Lifetime: Preliminary Results 82 of a Research Study. W. David Conn,* Carol Inge, Biswapriya Sanyal , and Elaine Warren SESSION III: DURABILITY TECHNOLOGY IN INDUSTRY 1 . Brake Wear. S. K. Rhee 93 2. Accelerated Testing of Compressors. Frank E. Kalivoda 99 3. Automobile Durability. C. J. Brady and H. W. Larsen* 107 4. Wear Analysis in Office Machines. P. A, Engel 121 V SESSION IV: PRODUCT PERFORMANCE -- WHY CARE? 1. Materials Conservation through Increased Durability, M. B. Peterson (abstract only, see Appendix A) 2. Extended Life and Waste Reduction. F. Smith (no manuscript or abstract submitted) 3. Household Retention of Consumer Appliances: USDA 131 Actuarial Estimates. Marilyn Doss Ruffin* and Katherine S. Tippett 4. Application of Historical Repair Data in Life Cycle 139 Costing Analysis. S. Wayne Stiefel* and Wil 1 iam B. Beine 5. The Concepts of Product Life and Consumer Product Safety. Joann H. Langston (abstract only, see Appendix A) 6. Environmental and Economic Impacts of Product Durability 156 and Life. P. L. Fontaine \ SESSION V: PANEL DISCUSSION: CAN AND SHOULD PRODUCT LIFE BE EXTENDED? Introductory Remarks of Panelists: 1 . William E. Davis 165 2. W. A. Glaeser 169 3. N. R. Pugh 171 APPENDIX A Abstracts of Papers for which no Manuscripts were Submitted: 1. Technical Durability of Products. Elio Passaglia 175 2. Materials Conservation through Increased Durability. 176 M. B. Peterson 3. The Concepts of Product Life and Consumer Product Safety. 177 Joann H. Langston VI APPENDIX B List of Registrants for the 27th MFPG Meeting 181 MFPG Publications 186 * Indicates speaker when a paper had more than one author. VII ABSTRACT These proceedings consist of a group of nineteen submitted papers from the 27th meeting of the Mechanical Failures Prevention Group which was held at the National Bureau of Standards in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on November 1-3, 1977. The central theme of the proceedings pertains to the durability of consumer products. Special emphasis is on durabil- ity technology, product testing, product performance, the economics of extending product life, and labeling products for durability. Key words : Design quality; durability; durability technology; materials conservation; product life; product performance; product testing; wear analysis UNITS AND SYMBOLS Customary United States units and symbols appear in many of the papers in these proceedings. The participants in the 27th meeting of the Mechanical Failures Prevention Group have used the established units and symbols commonly employed in their professional fields. However, as an aid ,to the reader in increasing familiarity with and usage of the metric system of units (SI), the following references are given: NBS Special Publication, SP330, 1977 Edition, "The International System of Units." ISO International Standard 1000 (1973 Edition), "SI Units and Recommen- dations for Use of Their Multiples." E380-76 ASTM/IEEE Standard Metric Practice (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Standard 268-1976). Disclaimer: Certain trade names and company products are identified in order to adequately specify the experimental procedure. In no case does such identification imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Bureau of Standards, nor does it imply that the products are necessar- ily the best available for the purpose. VIII SESSION I PRODUCT DURABILITY ISSUES CHAIRMAN: K. C. LUDEMA UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN OPPORTUNITIES AND IMPLICATIONS OF EXTENDING PRODUCT LIFE Robert T. Lund Center for Policy Alternatives Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Wm. Michael Penney Center for Policy Alternatives Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Abstract: This paper begins by discussing the various benefits associ- ated with extended product life, and possible negative impacts are noted, as well. It is pointed out that the factors influencing product life are not only technological in nature, but also include product usage behavior by consumers. The discussion then turns to a fourfold classification scheme for policy alternatives for extending product life. This scheme is built on the distinction between consumer versus product-related influences on product life, and a distinction between short-term and long-term policy impacts. The final section of the paper identifies options available to policymakers attempting to prolong product life. The concept of remanufacturing , as a strategy deserving more careful attention, is particularly stressed. Key words: Product life; remanuf acturing ; consumer usage; product durability; product design; resource conservation. How often have we heard the lament: "Why can't they make a product that lasts?" To the average consumer, the desire for longer lasting products probably seems beyond debate. This is corroborated by the recent Sentry Insurance study.