Two decades of statistical approach in reliability prediction of power converters

• A comparative study of statistical approach is performed in reliability prediction of power converters reported in the literature. • For reliability analysis of power converters, MIL-HDBK-217F, FIDES, and RIAC are the three statistical methods used. In these approaches, the military handbook MIL-HDBK-217F has been ruling in failure analysis for the last two decades. • General expressions involved for the failure rate analysis of components of power converters using the three methods are presented. • Failure rate analysis of components in power converters and fault with power converters reported in the literature using the military handbook MIL-HDBK-217F, FIDES, and other statistical approaches are captured and discussed. • Finally, the inferences from the study are drawn and presented. The main drawbacks of the above three methods are identified and presented. • This article will be a guide to the researchers working on the fault analysis of power converters. Various statistical methods are employed to predict the reliability of electronic components and monitor improvements in reliability. This article conducts a comprehensive study of statistical approaches for predicting the reliability of power converters, as reported in the literature. The analysis focuses on three statistical methods: MIL-HDBK-217F, FIDES, and RIAC. Among these, the military handbook MIL-HDBK-217F has been a dominant tool for failure analysis over the past two decades. The general formulas used for failure rate analysis of power converter parts with each of the three approaches are presented. The study also reviews and discusses failure rate analysis for components and modules in power converters, both with and without fault-tolerant capabilities, as documented in the literature using MIL-HDBK-217F, FIDES, and other statistical approaches. Finally, the paper outlines the conclusions drawn from the study and highlights the main limitations of the three methods. This article serves as a resource for researchers working on fault analysis in power converters.