Design of sudden death tests for estimation of a weibull percentile

Sudden Death Testing is a strategy for conducting life tests in which n specimens are divided into g groups each of size m {n=gm). Testing continues simultaneously on the specimens in each group until the first failure occurs in each. The testing thus results ing failures among the n specimens. It is shown how to determine the group size m so that thepth percentile of the Weibull distribution of life may be estimated with greater precision than in a conventional life test wherein n specimens are tested until the occurrence of the gth failure. Comparisons of the expected duration of the life tests in both cases are given for two combinations of g and m for four values of the Weibull shape parameter.