Reliability evaluation of a k-out-of-n(G)-subsystem based multi-state system with common bus performance sharing

Abstract

In this paper, a new reliability model for a complex multi-state system (MSS) with performance sharing is proposed. The MSS consists of m different k-out-of-n(G) subsystems which are connected by a transmission system. Subsystem i is composed of ni non-identical components, in which at least ki working components are demanded for the operating of the subsystem. The performances of the components in subsystem i are accumulated to meet its demand. Subsystem i fails if its performance demand is not satisfied or the number of working components is insufficient. The surplus performance of any subsystem can be shared by other subsystems experiencing performance deficiency via the transmission system. The entire system fails if at least one subsystem fails after performance sharing. An algorithm based on the universal generating function (UGF) is developed to evaluate the reliability of the entire system. Analytical and numerical examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Finally, a structure optimization problem of the performance sharing system with given transmission capacity C is discussed.