Equations for Failure Modes of Mechanical Systems

A report presents information compiled from a search of the literature on failure modes of mechanical systems. The report was written to provide a reference base for the application of first-order reliability methods to mechanical systems in the development of a system-level design methodology. In the report, each of 20 failure modes is assigned to one of four classes: wear, corrosion, fatigue, or material degradation. A brief description of each class and mode is presented. For each mode, there is a definition, plus a description of one or more failure mechanism(s) and/or one or more mathematical model(s). The mathematical models include equations, denoted "limit-state relationships," that describe such quantities as rates of wear or corrosion as functions of physical and chemical conditions and of relevant process variables.