A Study of the Frequency Distribution of the Time-to-Failure for Sixteen Measurement Functions of the 260 AFP-1 (Simpson) Multimeter.

Abstract

Present Air Force procedure for determining calibration intervals for precision measurement equipment (PME) IS BASED ON A FORMULA FOR THE NORMAL PROBABILITY DENSITY DISTRIBUTION. The Air Force assumes that the frequency distribution of the time-to-failure, or drift to an out-of-tolerance condition, of precision measurement equipment follows the normal probability distribution. This assumption is made without any factual evidence as to the actual distribution of PME failures with respect to time. Until empirical evidence of a particular distribution is found, efforts to optimize calibration intervals will be fruitless. This research effort investigated the time-to-failure, or drift away from a calibrated position, of 16 functions of a type of precision measurement equipment, a multimeter. The objective was to determine if the time-to-failure of each function followed the normal distribution.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1973
Accession Number
AD0769185

Entities

People

  • Joel A. Carroll
  • Robert M. Martin Iii

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Calibration
  • Communication Equipment
  • Frequency
  • Intervals
  • Mathematics
  • Measurement
  • Measuring Instruments
  • Mechanical Equipment
  • Multimeters
  • Normal Distribution
  • Precision
  • Probability
  • Probability Distributions

Readers

  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.
  • Regression Analysis.
  • Systems Analysis and Design