There are many types and designs of testing equipment. The current trend in the development of testing technology is the movement toward the design of equipment employing accelerated reliability testing (ART)/accelerated durability testing (ADT) functionality. ART/ADT equipment consists of components — groups of equipment. The most complicated types of mechanical testing are vibration testing and dynamometer brake testing due to their use for the testing of units and entire vehicles. There are other types of mechanical testing, but their use is mostly for materials and parts. This chapter also describes the current testing capability and advanced testing equipment for both types of mechanical testing. Accelerated multiple environmental testing (AMET) requires the simulation of complex environmental influences acting simultaneously and in combination with each other. AMET is one of the basic components of accelerated reliability (durability) testing.

Controlled Vocabulary Terms

extensometers; optical communication equipment