Designing Hardware for the Boundary Condition Round Robin Challenge

Qualification of products to their vibration and shock requirements in a laboratory setting consists of two basic steps. The first is the quantification of the product's mechanical environment in the field. The second is the process of testing the product in the laboratory to ensure it is robust enough to survive the field environment. The latter part is the subject of the "Boundary Condition for Component Qualification" challenge problem. This paper describes the challenges in determining the appropriate boundary conditions and input stimulus required to qualify the product. This paper also describes the steps and analyses that were taken to design a set of hardware that demonstrates the issue and can be used by round robin challenge participants to investigate the problem.