Reliability optimization of multi-state networks in a star configuration with bi-level performance sharing mechanism and transmission losses

Abstract

A multi-state star network with bi-level performance sharing mechanism is studied. According to the proposed topology, the network consists of a main node, which occupies the central position in the network, and n terminal nodes, which are directly connected to the central part through primary transmission lines with limited capacities. Each terminal node contains groups of components connected to a secondary common bus with a specific transmission capacity. Also, each group has a demand to satisfy. The groups within the same terminal node are able to share their surplus performance through a secondary common bus while the different terminal nodes may also share surplus performance with the main node through their primary transmitters. An adverse feature of real performance sharing systems is transmission loss that has to be taken into account if accurate reliability estimates are sought. To address this problem, the present study considers transmission loss at two levels. Network reliability is, then, calculated using a universal generating function (UGF)-based method while the best component allocation to maximize network reliability is also determined. The proposed method is eventually validated through a numerical example and a case study.