Reliability allocation assessment using MEOWA method in complex redundant systems

Abstract

Reliability assessment represent a key issue in many advanced technology applications, in particular where the systems under analysis are required to satisfy high levels of reliability and guarantee environment, personnel and system safety. This paper deals with the Reliability Allocation (RA), a top-down technique that allows apportioning of the system reliability goal between its components. The apportionment of reliability values among the various items and subsystems can be made on the basis of estimated achievable reliability, criticality, complexity, or any other factors considered appropriate by the analyst making the allocation. In particular, this paper is focused on the MEOWA Allocation technique that turned out to be the most effective procedure to assess Reliability Allocation in presence of redundant architectures. This RA method was tested on two case studies in order to extend its applicability in presence of more complex redundant architectures. It is important to note that redundant structures are fundamental in several critical application (i.e. avionics, automotive, military, biomedical and so on) due to the fact that allow to correctly perform its specified tasks in the presence of one or more failures. Therefore the apportionment of reliability should be made with particular attention in order to optimize costs and reliability requirements.