Role of individual component failure in the performance of a 1-out-of-3 cold standby system: A Markov model approach

Abstract

The current work assesses the availability and reliability of repairable 1-out-of-3 cold standby systems, undergoing switching failure, by the Markov models, where a finite set of differential equations govern the repairable system. A numerical approach based on KAOS programming in MATLAB is employed to solve the differential equations. Thus, numerical solutions for the time-dependent availability can then be obtained. The Laplace transform method is used for the reliability model to find the explicit form of the reliability function and the mean time to failure (MTTF) of the system. An availability estimation model for a 1-out-of-3 cold standby system is developed and the main electrical power network, local electricity generator, and domestic electricity generator are studied. Finally, the model is analyzed to illustrate the effect of both failures and repair rates as well as component capacity partitioning on system availability and MTTF.

Keywords

• 1-out-of-3 cold standby system
• markov model
• steady-state availability
• mttf
• imperfect switching