Comparison of Electronic Component Durability Under Uniaxial and Multiaxial Random Vibrations

Multiaxial and uniaxial vibration experiments were conducted in order to study the differences in failure modes and fatigue life for the two types of excitation. An electrodynamic (ED) shaker capable of controlled vibration in six degrees of freedom (DOF) was employed for the experiments. The test specimen consisted of six large inductors insertion mounted on a printed wiring board (PWB). Average damage accumulation rate (DAR) in the inductor leads was measured for random excitations in-plane, out-of-plane, and both directions simultaneously. Under simultaneous multiaxial excitation, the average DAR was found to be 2.2 times greater than the sum of the in-plane and out-of-plane DARs. The conclusion was that multiple-step sequential uniaxial testing may significantly overestimate the durability of large/heavy structures with high center of mass in a multiaxial dynamic environment. Additionally, a test method utilizing uniaxial vibration along a direction other than the principal directions of the structure was examined. This method was found to have significant limitations, but showed better agreement with simultaneous multiaxial vibration experiments.