1. General

As electrical components and equipment are used in a wide range of sectors, they can be subjected to a variety of environments, both in terms of the number of stresses present and their levels. Environmental stresses can result from :

• the manufacture of equipment (e.g. overheating when soldering components to an electronic board);

• transport and/or handling (e.g. shocks from accidental falls);

• the environment in which the equipment is stored and/or operated (e.g. humidity, both for equipment exposed to the elements and for equipment kept indoors);

• the use of the equipment itself (e.g. overheating due to energy dissipation).

Environmental tests are used to characterize the evolution of material under the effect...