Reliability demonstration of automotive electronic component for fuel heating with extended mission profile

The extended profile of fuel heating function on flex fuel engines to focus not only on cold start by also on engine operation whenever required has demanded a reliability demonstration in the field of power electronics. This paper presents application of Design for Reliability (DfR) method to demonstrate the reliability of Heating Control Unit in the face of an extended mission profile. The scope of work includes load collective measurement considering several driving cycles and ambient temperatures, derivation and execution of accelerated lifetime tests and physical inspection of samples. As a result, it was possible to quantitatively demonstrate the electronic reliability given longer thermal cycles and activation time as per the new mission profile.