Article: Modelling opportunistic maintenance and its effects on the dependability and performance of k-out-of-n systems Journal: International Journal of Reliability and Safety (IJRS) 2024 Vol.18 No.4 pp.337 - 362 Abstract: A wide range of production, manufacturing, industrial and general technological systems reveal a k-out-of-n structure. A k-out-of-n system is considered as operational when at least k of the n components are operational. Owing to this, upon a planned or an unplanned stoppage of a component and given that the remaining operating components are equal to or more than k, an opportunity to preventively maintain degraded components arises. Such an action, called Opportunistic Maintenance (OM), aims to improve the condition of the entire k-out-of-n system after the completion of all required restoration actions. In the current work, a new state-based approach is introduced to model OM for k-out-of-n multi-state systems. Based on the proposed model, the effects of OM on k-out-of-n multi-state systems' dependability and performance are extensively studied. The paper provides the appropriate theoretical framework for modelling OM and its effects on transient as well as on asymptotic availability and total expected operational cost. Moreover, through numerical examples, it is obtained that OM manages to provide practically the same availability with the systems without any OM action, but significantly lower operational cost. Thus, this work provides a cost-effective and easy to implement approach for enabling OM on k-out-of-n systems. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Modelling opportunistic maintenance and its effects on the dependability and performance of k-out-of-n systems

Authors: Vasilis P. Koutras; Sonia Malefaki

Addresses: Department of Financial and Management Engineering, School of Engineering, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Chios, Greece ' Department of Mechanical Engineering & Aeronautics, University of Patras, Rio Patras, Greece

Abstract: A wide range of production, manufacturing, industrial and general technological systems reveal a k-out-of-n structure. A k-out-of-n system is considered as operational when at least k of the n components are operational. Owing to this, upon a planned or an unplanned stoppage of a component and given that the remaining operating components are equal to or more than k, an opportunity to preventively maintain degraded components arises. Such an action, called Opportunistic Maintenance (OM), aims to improve the condition of the entire k-out-of-n system after the completion of all required restoration actions. In the current work, a new state-based approach is introduced to model OM for k-out-of-n multi-state systems. Based on the proposed model, the effects of OM on k-out-of-n multi-state systems' dependability and performance are extensively studied. The paper provides the appropriate theoretical framework for modelling OM and its effects on transient as well as on asymptotic availability and total expected operational cost. Moreover, through numerical examples, it is obtained that OM manages to provide practically the same availability with the systems without any OM action, but significantly lower operational cost. Thus, this work provides a cost-effective and easy to implement approach for enabling OM on k-out-of-n systems.

Keywords: opportunistic maintenance; k-out-of-n systems; multi-state systems; availability; operational cost; Markov process.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRS.2024.142092

International Journal of Reliability and Safety, 2024 Vol.18 No.4, pp.337 - 362

Received: 12 Jul 2023
Accepted: 31 Jan 2024
Published online: 07 Oct 2024 *

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Title: Modelling opportunistic maintenance and its effects on the dependability and performance of k-out-of-n systems

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