When engineers need to verify compliance with a design requirement using Monte Carlo simulation, they need to know how many trials to run and if the requirement was met. A set of plan calculators is now available to help. The requirement will outline the design conditions, the minimum reliability demanded, and the maximum probability of accepting a noncompliant design resulting from statistical error. The calculators will do the rest. The plan calculators are implemented as (beta-test) Excel spreadsheets. The calculators were developed from the literature on acceptance sampling — a statistical quality control technique originally intended for sampling inspection in production/supply-chain environments. The plans are appropriate for this original purpose, as well as for Monte Carlo applications in design.
For more information, contact Dr. K. Preston White (kpwhite@virginia.edu) or Kenneth Johnson (kenneth.l.johnson@nasa.gov)