A generalized multi-standby multi-failure mode system with various repair facilities

We consider a system of (m + 1) non-identical units—one functioning and m standby. Each unit of the system has the following states: normal, N types of partial failures and corresponding to them N types of total failures. There are k distinct major repair facilities and one on the spot repairman. One unit can pass from one state to another with known probability and then the time of staying in this state has a general distribution. The system starts to work at t = 0 and fails when the (m + 1)th unit after a total failure is finally rejected. Using semi-Markov techniques we obtain Laplace transforms of transition probabilities. Considering particular cases we derive known results for systems which have been defined in the past.     

Multi-standby system with repair and replacement policy

This paper investigates the mathematical model of a system composed of (m + 1) non-identical units—one functioning and m standbys. Each unit of the system has four possible states—normal, partial failure, total failure and repair facility—the last one meaning that the totally failed unit is being attended to at the repair facility where it might be either repaired or eventually rejected and replaced. The normal and partial failure states are up states while the other two are down states. The system breaks down when the (m + 1)th unit after total failure is finally rejected and no standby remains to replace it. Several reliability characteristics of interest to system designers as well as operations managers have been computed. Results obtained earlier are verified as particular cases.     

An age replacement policy with minimal repair and general random repair cost

An age replacement policy is introduced which incorporates minimal repair, replacement, and general random repair costs. If an operating unit fails at age y<T, it is either replaced by a new unit with probability p(y) at a cost c₀, or it undergoes minimal repair with probability q(y) = 1−p(y). Otherwise, a unit is replaced when it fails for the first time after age T. The cost of the i-th minimal repair of an unit at age y depends on the random part C(y) and the deterministic part c_i(y). The aim of the paper is to find the optimal T which minimizes the long run expected cost per unit time of the policy. Various special cases are considered.     

An age replacement policy with increasing minimal repair cost

A replacement policy for a system in which minimal repair cost increases in system age is considered. If a system fails before age T, it is minimally repaired. Otherwise, the system is replaced when if fails for the first time after age T. The mean cost rate is used as a criterion for optimization. It is shown that the optimal T minimizing the mean cost rate is finite and unique.     

Optimal periodic preventive repair and replacement policy assuming geometric process repair

In this paper, a simple deteriorating system with repair is studied. When failure occurs, the system is replaced at high cost. To extend the operating life, the system can be repaired preventively. However, preventive repair does not return the system to a "good as new" condition. Rather, the successive operating times of the system after preventive repair form a stochastically decreasing geometric process, while the consecutive preventive repair times of the system form a stochastically increasing geometric process. We consider a bivariate preventive repair policy to solve the efficiency for a deteriorating & valuable system. Thus, the objective of this paper is to determine an optimal bivariate replacement policy such that the average cost rate (i.e., the long-run average cost per unit time) is minimized. The explicit expression of the average cost rate is derived, and the corresponding optimal replacement policy can be determined numerically. An example is given where the operating time of the system is given by a Weibull distribution.     

Cost limit replacement policy under minimal repair

This paper presents a policy for either repairing or replacing a system that has failed. When a system requires repair, it is first inspected and the repair cost is estimated. Repair is only then undertaken if the estimated cost is less than the “repair cost limit”. However, the repair cannot return the system to “as new” condition but instead returns it to the average condition for a working system of its age. Examples include complex systems where the repair or replacement of one component does not materially affect the condition of the whole system. A Weibull distribution of time to failure and a negative exponential distribution of estimated repair cost are assumed for analytic amenability. An optimal “repair cost limit” policy is developed that minimizes the average cost per unit time for repairs and replacement. It is shown that the optimal policy is finite and unique.     

A replacement policy maximizing MTTF of a system with several spareunits

A replacement policy is considered that maximizes mean time-to-failure (MTTF) of a system with N spare units. The optimum replacement time of a system with k spares (k=1, 2, ..., N) is derived successively from MTTF with k-1 spares by induction. The maximum MTTF is approximately given by a reciprocal of the hazard rate     

Optimal replacement policy (N, n) for a parallel system with common cause failure and geometric repair time

The purpose of this article is to present an improved replacement model for a parallel system of N identical units, by bringing in common cause failure (CCF), maintenance cost and repair cost per unit time additionally, and to develop a procedure to obtain the optimal redundant units N^* and optimal number of repairs n^* with the conditions that the system is allowed to undergo at most a prefixed number of repairs before to be replaced and the successive reapir times after failures constitute a non-decreasing Geometric process. Several conditions for the existence of the optimal N^* and n^* is stated and the results are illustrated by a numerical example.     

Periodic replacement with minimal repair at failure and general random repair cost for a multi-unit system

A policy of periodic replacement with minimal repair at failure is considered for the multi-unit system which have the specific multivariate distribution. Under such a policy an operating system is completely replaced whenever it reaches age T (T > 0) at a cost c₀ while minimal repair is performed at any intervening component failures. The cost of the j-th minimal repair to the component which fails at age y is g(C(y),c_j(y)), where C(y) is the age-dependent random part, c_j(y) is the deterministic part which depends on the age and the number of the minimal repair to the component, and g is an positive nondecreasing continuous function. A simple expression is derived for the expected minimal repair cost in an interval in terms of the cost function and the failure rate of the component. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of an optimal replacement interval are exhibited.     

Cache memory replacement policy for a uniprocessor system

Cache memory hierarchies are used to buffer those portions of main memory with the most frequent use by the CPU. As cache memory is very costly, good design techniques must consider small cache sizes maintaining high levels of use (hit ratio) and ease of implementation. The memory replacement policy is important is maintaining a high hit ratio. Most replacement policies used are easily implemented when the main memory has fixed page locations. A new cache algorithm using a variable page configuration is explained in terms of program behaviour.<>     

Optimal replacement policy for a warrantied system with imperfect preventive maintenance operations

This paper determines the optimal replacement time for a system with imperfect preventive maintenance operations under the modified warranty policy. The hazard rate after preventive maintenance lies between the states as good as new and as bad as old. After minimal repair, the hazard rate remains unchanged. Modified warranty policy is a mixed type of free and pro-rata warranty policy. Numerical examples using the Weibull case are presented.     

Optimum policy of one-unit system with two types of maintenance and minimal repair

This paper deals with a one-unit system with minimal repair. Two policies (new Policy IV and Policy IV′) are considered. Under these policies, the Laplace transform of the point-wise availability and the stationary availability of the system are obtained using not the renewal theory but the supplementary variable method. And under new Policy IV, the optimum policy in the sense of the availability is discussed.     

Cost-benefit analysis of a one-server two-unit cold standby system with repair and age replacement

This paper deals with the cost-benefit analysis of a one-server two-identical-unit cold standby system with repair and preventive maintenance (PM). The PM is of the age replacement type, where, if a unit has been in operation for a certain period of time, which may be a random variable, and if the other unit is in standby, the operating unit is taken off for PM. The expected net revenue in the interval [0,t) is obtained using two different approaches. The first approach is more general and allows nonlinearities in the revenue and costs. It is assumed that the revenue obtained by operating a unit for an uninterrupted interval of time is some function of the length of that interval. Similarly, the cost of a repair or PM action is function of the length of the repair or PM time, respectively, for that action. The second approach assumes that the revenue, repair cost and PM cost vary linearly with time. The pointwise availability is derived. The busy period of the server is divided into time spent in performing repair and time spent on PM. The expected net revenue in [0,t) is obtained. Both techniques make use of regeneration points. It is finally shown that the results of the first approach under assumptions of linear revenue and cost functions reduce to those of the second approach.     

Cost-benefit analysis of a system with inspection, replacement and two types of repair

This paper investigates a mathematical model of a system composed of two units—one operative and the other in cold standby. There is a single repair facility which serves the triple role of inspection, repair and replacement of a failed unit. After inspection, the unit goes to minor (major) repair with probability p(q = 1 − p). Whenever the failed unit goes to major repair, an order is immediately placed for a new unit to replace the unit under major repair. Failure, inspection and delivery time distributions are negative exponential, whereas repair time distribution is arbitrary. The system is analysed in detail using the regenerative point technique and several reliability characteristics of interest to system designers and operation managers are obtained. Earlier results are verified in particular cases.     

Extended block replacement policy of a system subject to shocks

A generalization of the block replacement (BR) policy is proposed and analyzed for a system subject to shocks. Under such a policy, an operating system is preventively replaced by new ones at times i·T (i=1,2,3,...) independently of its failure history. If the system fails in: (a) ((i-1)·T, (i-1)·T+T₀), it is either replaced by a new one or minimally repaired; or (b) ((i-1)·T+T₀, i·T), it is either minimally repaired or remains inactive until the next planned replacement. The choice of these two actions is based on some mechanism (modeled as random) which depends on the number of shocks since the latest replacement. The average cost rate is obtained using the results of renewal reward theory. The model with two variables is transformed into a model with one variable and the optimum policy is discussed. Various special cases are considered. The results extend many of the well-known results for BR policies     

An ordering policy with age-dependent minimal repair and age-dependent random repair costs

In this paper we consider an ordering policy for a one-unit system with age-dependent minimal repair and age-dependent random repair costs. We derive the expected cost per unit time in the steady-state as a criterion of optimality and seek the optimum policy by minimizing that cost. We show that, under certain conditions, there exists a finite and unique optimum policy. Various special cases are discussed.     

An optimal replacement policy for a three-state repairable system with a monotone process model

In this paper, a deteriorating simple repairable system with three states, including two failure states and one working state, is studied. Assume that the system after repair cannot be "as good as new", and the deterioration of the system is stochastic. Under these assumptions, we use a replacement policy N based on the failure number of the system. Then our aim is to determine an optimal replacement policy N/sup */ such that the average cost rate (i.e., the long-run average cost per unit time) is minimized. An explicit expression of the average cost rate is derived. Then, an optimal replacement policy is determined analytically or numerically. Furthermore, we can find that a repair model for the three-state repairable system in this paper forms a general monotone process model. Finally, we put forward a numerical example, and carry through some discussions and sensitivity analysis of the model in this paper.     

Optimal stocking for replacement with minimal repair

Joint stocking and replacement model with minimal repair at failure is considered. A recursive relationship among the optimal replacement intervals is obtained, which shows that replacement intervals are an increasing sequence due to the inventory carrying cost. Using the relationship, a procedure is given for determining how many units to purchase on each order and when to replace each unit after it has begun operating so as to minimize the total cost per unit time over an infinite time span. The problem can be simplified if equal replacement intervals are assumed, and the solution is very close to that of the unconstrained problem.     

A multistate system with two repair distributions

This paper investigates the mathematical model of a reparable system with three possible states—normal, degraded and failed. We consider two types of repair facilities—overhaul and minor repair—having arbitrary pdf. Other transitions have constant rates.     

一种新的基于多因素多级模糊综合评判的更新算法

VoD作为交互检索型多媒体业务的典型代表 ,日益为人们所了解和接受。但是 ,网络结构的复杂以及使用上的价格昂贵成为制约VoD发展推广的重要因素。本文提出将宽带智能网的思想引入VoD ,给VoD业务带来了更大的灵活性。同时 ,在VoD体系中引入本地存储器 ,以降低成本和价格。进一步 ,为了提高用户访问的命中率 ,提出了一种基于多因素多级模糊综合评判的更新算法 ,该算法综合了影响用户访问命中率的多种因素 ,并根据其中的模糊问题采用模糊数学的方法加以分析解决。仿真表明 ,该方法有效地提高了访问节目的命中率。