Circular Economy and Reliability: Extended Lifespan Requirements in Automotive

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🔬研究者:Integration of reliability engineering with circular economy, with case studies and numerical methods for extended lifespan validation.

🏢実務担当者:Framework to adjust component validation processes for extended product life, improving cost-effectiveness and compliance with circular economy goals.

SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONSThe concepts of Circular Economy are gaining traction in the European industrial landscape in recent years. The automotive sector is particularly interested in the recovery of resources and diminishing its carbon footprint. To ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, the authors’ company (a major tier-1 supplier) actively participates by adopting the 4Rs of circular economy:RecycleRepairRemanufacturing andRobust Design.In this framework, the extension of the product lifetime assumes particular importance because it embraces the domain of reliability engineering (warranty, durability, test & validation). This relates to the product lifespan under various perspectives:i)The extension of the warranty period,ii)A second life usage andiii)A more demanding operational (mission) profile.This paper investigates how the new extended lifespan requirements affect the validation process of the automotive components, with particular regards to reliability testing. Two case studies are presented:•a battery cooling radiator ("static" mechanical component) undergoing extended usage profiles in battery electric vehicles compared to combustion engine vehicles;•a high voltage electrical compressor ("dynamic" mechatronic component) requiring design considerations for reparability and reuse; with differentiation between robust electronic components designed for extended life, opposed to wearing out mechanical parts designed to be easily repaired or replaced.Dedicated numerical examples demonstrate the impact of the longer life duration on the reliability from a testing perspective. The paper underlines the importance of representative validation tests and emphasizes the crucial role of reliability engineering since this discipline embraces aspects of the 4R approach, in particular Robust Design. This investigation advocates the overture towards more modern reliability and statistical methods, necessary to provide accurate and cost-effective predictions in a highly competitive and cost-oriented environment such as the automotive industry.

• semanticscholar https://doi.org/10.1109/rams50514.2026.11424483first seen 2026-06-23 06:05:53 · last seen 2026-07-05 05:45:20