Optimal Utilization of Test Facilities to Replicate Operational Environments

Useful system endurance tests require operating a system in settings similar to operational environments. However, existing test facilities may not be good replicas of the operational environment, especially for systems with long life cycles that are being used in new and unforeseen situations. Because constructing new test facilities can be expensive and time-consuming, it is desirable to use the existing test infrastructure to replicate the operational environment as closely as possible. This study presents an optimization model that determines the most appropriate amount of testing to conduct using each existing test facility. A multi-objective model is also presented, and the application of this work to two military vehicle tests is discussed.