Optimal Burn-In for a Process with Weak Components

This paper discusses an optimal burn -in procedure to minimize total costs based on the assumption that some of the components are weak for stress and deteriorate faster than the main components. The procedure will define the costs of burn-in errors. An ideal burn-in consists of process in which all weak (substandard) components and no main (standard) components fail. In practice, the burn-in errors could occur for some reasons. For example, it is impossible to eliminate all weak components through burn-in, due to a nonzero proportion of defectives of the components. Probability model and cost function model are formulated to find the optimal burn-in time that minimizes the expected total cost. Several examples are included to show how to use the results.