This study describes the statistical analysis of peak forces of industrial washing machines. The data source comes from twelve different machines. The measurements are done using a force gauge installed in places for fastening screws. A new software based on LabView has been developed to gauge the acting forces. To determine extreme force values, various probability distributions are applied. Furthermore, a convex combination of lognormal distribution is used in more complicated cases. The parameters of the lognormal mixtures are determined using modified an Expectation-maximization algorithm. Finally, the achieved results are interpreted with regard to the engineering design and to the operating reliability.
Science Journal 