Ways of destroying or expiring goods

The mechanical, electrical and electronic components of a piece of equipment are subjected to various types of stress during operation:

• mechanical stresses of a component subjected to a set of tensile, flexural and torsional forces... ;

• electrical stresses applied to an insulator in a motor or alternator;

• thermal stress in equipment where temperatures are very high... or very low;

• chemical or electrochemical stresses in equipment working in an aggressive environment (sea air) or handling corrosive products (pumps in the chemical industry).

If the device is well designed, the component will have been defined to withstand these various stresses during normal operation, and will therefore be able to live for...