Title: Analysis of a complex system with common cause failure and two types of repair facilities with different distributions in failure

Authors: Mangey Ram, S.B. Singh

Addresses: Department of Mathematics, Graphic Era University, Dehradun, India. ' Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India

Abstract: This paper through a systematic view presents a mathematical model of a complex system that can fail in n-mutually exclusive ways of total failure or due to common cause failure. The system has two modes, namely normal and failed, with two types of repair facility. Repair rates are arbitrary functions of the time spent. All transition rates are assumed to be constant except at one where two types of failure, namely logarithmic and constant are possible. By employing a supplementary variable technique, Laplace transformation and Gumbel-Hougaard family copula, various transition state probabilities, availability and cost analysis (expected profit) are obtained along with steady-state behaviour of the system. Time-dependent probabilities and availability are also obtained by evaluating inversions. Finally, some special cases of the system and their plots are also appended.

Keywords: common cause failure; complex systems; reliability; availability; cost analysis; supplementary variables; Gumbel-Hougaard family copula; repair facilities; failure distributions; mathematical modelling; Laplace transformation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRS.2010.035576

International Journal of Reliability and Safety, 2010 Vol.4 No.4, pp.381 - 392

Received: 26 Jan 2009
Accepted: 11 Dec 2009

Published online: 30 Sep 2010 *

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