A Comprehensive Study of the Bathtub Curve in Reliability Engineering

The Bathtub curve is one of the commonly used recognized models in reliability engineering, used to describe the failure rate of systems and components over time. The curve illustrates three distinct life-cycle phases of a system: early failures (infant mortality), a constant failure period (useful life), and wear-out failures. This paper reviews the theoretical basis, practical applications, and critical viewpoints of the bathtub curve. It also discusses reliability improvement strategies of this model.