How is thermal cycling handled in ALTA?
All of the models available within the ALTA Standard software deal with constant stress, i.e. stress that does not change over time. However, in temperature cycling you can cautiously use the change in temperature per cycle as the stress level in a constant stress model as defined by the Coffin Manson relationship. For a more detailed discussion, consult ReliaSoft’s Accelerated Testing Reference, which is also available in an online version on weibull.com. The Coffin Manson relationship is covered on pages 182-185 of the reference (revised March 2007 and distributed with ALTA 7 — pages 164-167 in the version distributed with ALTA 6 and pages 155-158 in the original reference distributed with ALTA 1.0).
