Product Integrity and Reliability in Design is intended to serve either as a text for graduate students or as a reference for practicing engineers. The book develops the root-cause approach to reliability - often referred to as "physics of failure" in the reliability engineering field. It approaches the subject from the point of view of a process and integrates the necessary methods to support that process. The book can be used to teach first- or second-year postgraduate students in mechanical, electrical, manufacturing and materials engineering about addressing issues of reliability during product development. It will also serve practicing engineers involved in the design and development of electrical and mechanical components and systems, as a reference.
The book takes an interdisciplinary approach appropriate to system engineering, stressing concepts that can be integrated into design and placing less emphasis on traditional assumptions about reliability and analysis as a separate development activity. Several case studies emphasize the understanding of failure mechanisms and failure prevention and show how reliability methods, including simulation and testing can be integrated into design and development.