On reliability assessment of weighted k-out-of-n systems with multiple types of components

Abstract

This paper studies the reliability function of a weighted (Formula presented.) -out-of- (Formula presented.) system with multiple types of components. A weighted system with (Formula presented.) different types of components is considered and two real-life scenarios for the operation of the system are defined. In the first one, it is assumed that the system operates if the accumulated weight of all active components is more than a predetermined threshold (Formula presented.), otherwise the system fails. In the second scenario, the system is assumed to operate if the total weight of the operating components of type (Formula presented.) is more than or equal to the corresponding threshold (Formula presented.), for at least (Formula presented.) types of components, (Formula presented.). Our approaches in assessing the reliability function of the system lifetime rely on the notion of survival signature corresponding to multi-type weighted (Formula presented.) -out-of- (Formula presented.) system. The formulas for the proposed survival signature are presented and the corresponding computational algorithms are also given. To examine the theoretical results, the reliability function and other aging characteristics of a wind farm (system) consisting of three plants located in three different regions are assessed numerically and graphically. Finally, an allocation problem to determine the best choice for the distribution of each type in the weighted (Formula presented.) -out-of- (Formula presented.) systems is studied. © 2023 International Chinese Association of Quantitative Management.