A dynamic model for component testing

Abstract

We consider the component testing problem of a system where the main feature is that the component failure rates are not constant parameters, but they change in a dynamic fashion with respect to time. More precisely, each component has a piecewise‐constant failure‐rate function such that the lifetime distribution is exponential with a constant rate over local intervals of time within the overall mission time. There are several such intervals, and the rates change dynamically from one interval to another. We note that these lifetime distributions can also be used in a more general setting to approximate arbitrary lifetime distributions. The optimal component testing problem is formulated as a semi‐infinite linear program. We present an algorithmic procedure to compute optimal test times based on the column‐generation technique and illustrate it with a numerical example. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 44: 187–197, 1997

Reliability test plan for a series system with variable failure rates

“…Hence, the number of failures to be tested and the total testing time of the components as given by these papers are not very realistic. Altinel and Ozekici (1997) considered a component-level reliability test plan with exponential life time distribution in which the components failure rates change dynamically with respect to time. Altinel et al (2001) have designed a similar component reliability test plan for a series system with redundant subsystems.…”

The design of mission-based component test plans for series connection of subsystems

“…In most of the models available in the literature, R(λ) is the system reliability or the probability of system survival until a predetermined time. The reader is referred to Gal (1974), Mazumdar (1977Mazumdar ( , 1980, Easterling et al (1991), Altınel (1994), Altınel andÖzekici (1997), Altınel et al (2001), and Nair and Sabnis (2002) for such models and historical developments. In a recent work, Altınel et al (2011) deviate from this fixed time-based definition of reliability and define it as the probability that the whole mission, which consists of several non-overlapping phases, is successfully completed.…”