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A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared
operational An operational definition specifies concrete, replicable procedures designed to represent a construct. In the words of American psychologist S.S. Stevens (1935), "An operation is the performance which we execute in order to make known a concept." F ...
. Statistically, a proportion of the components will
fail Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One ...
after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to last for a much longer, and more importantly, predictable
life-span Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
. For example, if a bolt has a hidden flaw introduced during manufacturing, it will not be as reliable as other bolts of the same type.


Example procedures


Racing cars

Most racing cars require a "shakedown" test before being used at a race meeting. For example, on May 3, 2006,
Luca Badoer Luca Badoer (born 25 January 1971) is an Italian former racing driver. Badoer has raced for the Scuderia Italia, Minardi, Forti and most recently, Ferrari teams. In addition to his racing duties, Badoer was one of the active test and reserve driv ...
performed shakedowns on all three of Ferrari's
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
cars at the Fiorano Circuit, in preparation for the
European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
at the Nürburgring. Badoer was the Ferrari F1 team's test driver at the time, while the main drivers were
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
and Felipe Massa.


Aircraft

Aircraft shakedowns check
avionics Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...
, flight controls, all systems, and the general airframe's
airworthiness In aviation, airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft's suitability for safe flight. Initial airworthiness is demonstrated by a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft is register ...
. In aircraft there are two forms of shakedown testing: shakedown testing of the design as a whole with flight-tests, and shakedown testing of individual aircraft. Shakedown testing of an aircraft design involves test flights of the prototypes, a process that actually starts months or years before first flight with simulator flights and hardware testing. This process often incorporates an iron bird test rig in which all the flight control systems are brought together in an engineering lab, while test-articles of the physical structure will be subjected to stress and fatigue loads beyond anything the aircraft is likely to encounter in service (sometimes, although not necessarily, testing one or more articles to destruction). The aircraft systems are gradually commissioned on board the prototypes; first on external power, then, once engines are fitted, on internal power, progressing to taxi trials and eventually first flight. Flight-testing proceeds conservatively, demonstrating that each test condition can be safely achieved before proceeding to the next. Prototype aircraft are generally heavily instrumented in order to support these flight-test objectives by capturing large amounts of data for both live analysis (which on larger aircraft such as
airliners An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ai ...
may happen at dedicated flight-test engineer stations on board) and for analysis post-flight. The ultimate aim of testing is to demonstrate the aircraft can operate safely throughout its flight envelope and that all regulatory requirements of the relevant civil aviation authorities have been met, allowing the design to receive its
Certificate of Airworthiness A standard certificate of airworthiness is a permit for commercial passenger or cargo operation, issued for an aircraft by the civil aviation authority in the state/nation in which the aircraft is registered. For other aircraft such as crop-spraye ...
. Shakedown testing of production aircraft is a simplified version of prototype testing. The design has been demonstrated to be safe and the objective is to now demonstrate that the components on an individual aircraft operate appropriately. Shakedown now comprises the general power-on trials, followed by one or more pre-delivery test flights carried out by the aircraft builder's personnel, and generally culminating in a final acceptance test also involving the purchaser's own flight crew and engineering personnel.


Ship

A shakedown for a ship is generally referred to as a
sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
. The maiden voyage takes place after a successful shakedown. However, for warships, the shakedown period extends post- commissioning as the new crew familiarise themselves with the ship and with operating together as a single unit, raising their proficiency until the warship can be considered
operational An operational definition specifies concrete, replicable procedures designed to represent a construct. In the words of American psychologist S.S. Stevens (1935), "An operation is the performance which we execute in order to make known a concept." F ...
.


Hiking

A shakedown hike is when a backpacker, in preparation for a long hike such as the
Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...
,
Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...
or the
Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail (CDT)) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua, Mexico ...
, takes their selection of equipment on a shorter backpacking trip with the intention of testing its trail worthiness. A related term, the pack shakedown, is when a novice hiker has a more experienced hiker suggest changes to the novice's equipment, often simply suggesting things to leave out.


See also

*
Bathtub curve The bathtub curve is widely used in reliability engineering and deterioration modeling. It describes a particular form of the hazard function which comprises three parts: *The first part is a decreasing failure rate, known as early failures. *Th ...
, the engineering concept behind shakedowns *
Demonstration and Shakedown Operation A Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO) is a series of missile tests conducted by the United States Navy and the Royal Navy. These tests are employed to validate a weapon system (SLBM) and ensure a submarine crew's readiness to use tha ...
, tests performed by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
for submarine certification *
Burn-in Burn-in is the process by which components of a system are exercised before being placed in service (and often, before the system being completely assembled from those components). This testing process will force certain failures to occur under ...


References

{{Reflist Transport operations