Title: Standby redundant systems: a quantitative reliability perspective

Authors: Salvatore Distefano

Addresses: Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy

Abstract: To properly design standby systems, adequate techniques and tools allowing quantitative evaluation of the underlying phenomena are required. In particular, different aspects and perspectives have to be considered, overcoming the lacks in the current literature. The aim of this paper is to provide an analytical framework for in-depth investigation of the standby system reliability. In particular, the problem is addressed from two different points of view, separately observing the effects of standby management on the system in isolation and when it is plunged into the environment. Starting from the dynamic reliability theory, a formal characterisation of the problem and its mathematical formulation are provided into an analytical framework, which are then used in the evaluation of standby redundant systems and their management and configuration. The effectiveness of the technique proposed is demonstrated through a numerical example comparing different solutions.

Keywords: operating modes; standby systems; redundant systems; system reliability; management policies; dynamic reliability; k-out-of-n; standby management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRS.2014.062641

International Journal of Reliability and Safety, 2014 Vol.8 No.1, pp.70 - 93

Received: 23 Oct 2013
Accepted: 12 May 2014
Published online: 25 Oct 2014 *

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