International Journal of Operations Research (Mar 2016)
Reliability analysis of a linear consecutive 2-out-of-3 system in the presence of supporting device and repairable service station
Abstract
This paper studies the reliability characteristics of a linear consecutive 2-out-of-3 cold standby repairable system operating with the help of a repairable external supporting device with preventive maintenance. A repairable service station is set aside to repair any failed unit. The system is analyzed using first order linear differential equation to develop the explicit expression for steady-state availability, busy period, profit function and mean time to system failure (MTSF). Based on assumed numerical values given to system parameters, graphical illustrations are given to highlight important results. Comparisons are performed to highlight the impact of preventive maintenance and found that the 2-out-of-3 cold standby system with preventive maintenance, supporting device and a repairable service station is better.