A Test of Exponentiality in Life-Testing Against Weibull Alternatives Under Hybrid Censoring

Abstract

In this study, a test for exponentiality in life-testing against Weibull IFR⁄DFR alternatives based on observed number offailures has been suggested using a hybrid censoring scheme under which for a given size α, the test is terminated as soon as a pre-assigned number r of failures occur, or a pre-assigned time t_r,α elapses, whichever is earlier. The optimal censoring parameters (r, t_r,α) have been numerically obtained for selected choices of the sample size n and the test-size α as minimax solutions under a squared error loss function. The performance of the suggested test has been compared with that of the test based on the maximum likelihood estimator suggested by Thoman, Bain and Antle (1969) in terms of power and average testing time for selected situations.