Optimal single-replacement for repairable products with different failure rate under a finite planning horizon

Abstract

This paper provides a replacement policy for repairable products with free-repair warranty (FRW) under a finite planning horizon from the consumer's viewpoint. Assume that the product is replaced once within a finite planning horizon, and the failure rate of the second product is lower than the failure rate of the first product. Within FRW, the failed product is corrected by minimal repair without any cost to the consumers. After FRW, the failed product is repaired with a fixed repair cost to the consumers. However, each failure incurs a fixed downtime cost to the consumers over a finite planning horizon. In this paper, we derive the three models of the expected total disbursement cost within a finite planning horizon and some properties of the optimal replacement policy under some reasonable conditions are obtained. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the features of the optimal replacement policy under various maintenance costs.