Generalized periodic replacement policies for repairable systems subject to two types of failures

Abstract

The purpose of this current research is to schedule generalized periodic replacement policies for a single unit system executing random working jobs. The system is subject to two types of failures when it has failed, including a minor failure (Type I failure), which can be thoroughly removed by the minimal repair and a catastrophic failure (Type II failure), which should be rectified by the corrective replacement. To be specific, four distinct periodic replacement models including a periodic replacement first model (Model A1), a modified periodic replacement first model (Model A2), a periodic replacement last model (Model B1), and a modified periodic replacement last model (Model B2) are investigated. The long run average cost rate (ACR) over an infinite time span under different situations is obtained theoretically and optimal periodic replacement interval for each condition is derived analytically. Numerical examples are exhibited to verify the derived results.