Signatures in Markov-Modulated Processes

Abstract

□ In recent years, signatures are widely used for analysis of coherent systems consisting of unreliable components. If component lifetimes are independent and identically distributed, then system lifetime distribution function is a convex combination of distribution functions of order statistics for component lifetimes. Coefficients of this convex combination are called signatures. This article considers the case when a system operates in a so-called random environment, i.e., component failure rates are jointly modulated by a finite-state continuous-time Markov chain. In this model, component lifetimes remain exchangeable. An expression for distribution function of time to system failure is derived. Here, a crucial role is played by an elaborated procedure of deriving a distribution function of order statistics for system component lifetimes. A numerical example illustrates the suggested approach and analyzes the influence of random environment on the distribution function of system lifetime.