²¹The typically large values we see for MTBF and MTTF can be misleading, as they represent a theoretical time based on the failure rate seen over relatively short testing times where all components are “young.” In reality, the wear-out time of a component will be less than its MTBF. In the case of these control valves, they would likely all “die” of old age and wear long before reaching an age of 66.667 years!