Chapter Seven

Introduction of
Reliability Engineering

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 Contents 1

1 – Introduction
2
2 – Reliability Growth
3
3 – Systems Reliability and
Availability 4
4 – Degradation-Based
Reliability 5
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Introduction: What is reliability?

Reliability
• The probability that a component,
part, equipment or system will
Reliability satisfactorily perform its intended
The ability of an item to function under given
circumstances, such as
perform a required function environmental conditions,
under stated conditions for limitations as to operating time,
specified period of time. and frequency and thoroughness of
maintenance for specified period of
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Functions of Reliability Engineering

Functions of Reliability
Engineering
• Ensure that designs meet
product reliability
requirements.
• Verify that a product will
function reliably over its
mission lifetime.
• Identify design discrepancies
and resolve.
• Evaluate potential failure
modes and their effects on
mission.
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Functions of Reliability Engineering
(cont’d)
Functions of Reliability Probabilit
Engineering (cont…) y of
success

• Recommend design
Availabilit
configurations for redundancy. y to
Durability
perform a
• Establish cost effective test function Reliabilit
plan based on reliability goal to
determine sample size and test y
duration.
• Asses product failure
probability at mission lifetime. Quality Dependa
over time bility
• Predict systems reliability and
availability.
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 A Brief History of Reliability
Engineering
in 1963,
• who led German V- the
1 missile test University
program, •became the 1st
• first recognized In 1955, of Arizona,
institution to • with support from
the need for a
• Institute of
separate discipline teach reliability National Science
Electrical and Foundation,
as a Reliability engineering • became the 1st
Engineering. Electronics
Engineers (EEE) courses in the national research
In 1941, Robert • initiated the world In
US. 1960, the university to establish
Lusser, 1st Reliability and
US Naval Post- a Reliability
Quality Control Graduate Engineering Program
Society. School in the US.

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 Difference Between Reliability and
Quality
Reliability
• deals with behavior of failure
rate over a long period of
operation.
• deals with all periods of
existence of a product with a
prime emphasis at the design
stage.
• Reliability and quality control
use different statistical tools
to evaluate.
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 Difference Between Reliability and
Quality (cont’d)

Quality control
• deals with percent of
defectives based on
performance specifications at
a certain point of time.
• deals with primarily on the
manufacturing stage.
• Reliability and quality control
use different statistical tools
to evaluate.

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 Metrics in Reliability
Engineering
Reliability (R) or probability Failure • equal to the
of success (Ps). probabilit cumulative density
function (cdf) of a
y (Pf = 1- lifetime distribution.
Mean time between
R), • cdf = (f is the pdf)
failures (MTBF)

System availability (A) Mean time to • MTTF

failure =
=
Failure (or (MTTF).
hazard) rate •λ=
(λ).
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 Commonly Used Probability
Distributions
Distributio Variable Application
n
Exponential Continuous variable. Commonly used for electronic
Time-to-failure. parts/assemblies with constant failure rate.
Weibull Continuous variable. Versatile to any application.
Time-to-failure.
Lognormal Continuous variable. Mostly used for products subject to wear-out.
Time-to-failure.
Chi-square Continuous variable. Calculating confidence bounds of a constant
failure estimate. Also used for two samples
comparison, goodness-of-fit test, etc.
Binomial Discrete variable with Estimating probability of success from
binary outcomes. repeated tests. Also used for sampling plan.
F Continuous variable. Calculating confidence bounds of a probability
of success. Also used for two samples
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 Bathtub Curve
The bathtub curve
describes a particular form
of a failure (hazard) rate
function which comprises
three parts:
Early failure,
Random failure
and
Wear out failure.
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 What is Reliability
Growth?
Reliability growth
• is a tool to predict reliability of a
system or equipment under
development to some future
development time from information
available now, or
• monitor the reliability of the system
or equipment to establish a trend in
increase of reliability with research
and engineering efforts to make
sure it achieves its reliability goal.
• studies are necessary to ensure that
the reliability goal is achievable by
delivery time.
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 Reliability-Based Growth
Models
Gompertz
Model
• R(t) = a.
• Where t is the
development time, 0 < a,
b & c < 1.
Logistic Model Lloyd-Lipow Model
• Rk = R ∞ -
• R(t) =
• Where Rk is the reliability at the
• Where t is the
kth stage of the
development time, a & b development/testing, and R∞ is
> 0. the ultimate reliability.
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 MTBF-Based Growth Models
AMSAA (U.S. Army
Duane Model Material Systems
Analysis Activity)
• MTBF(t) = a. Model
• Where t is the
• MTBF(t) = .
development time, a
the MTBF at the • Where t is the
beginning of development time, β
development & η > 0.
(defined as to = 1),
and 0 ≤ b ≤ 1.
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 System Reliability and Availability:
Objectives
To evaluate system
availability;
•i.e., probability that a
system is operating
properly when it is
requested for use.
To provide
To evaluate system recommendation for any
reliability; design change for
• i.e., probability that a system
redundancy
•to achieve a specified
is operating properly without a system reliability or
failure. availability.
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 Reliability Block Diagram
(RBD)
Reliability Block Diagram
(RBD)
• A graphical representation of
subsystems or components of
a system and reliability-wise
connection among them.
• Should be created prior to
doing system reliability
modeling.
• Might be different from its
functional bock diagram.

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 Non-Repairable and Repairable
Systems
A Non-Repairable
System
Does not get repaired
when it fails.

System reliability is a
sufficient measure of
the system
performance.
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 Non-Repairable and Repairable
Systems (cont’d)

A Repairable System
• Gets repaired when it
fails.
• System reliability itself is
not a sufficient measure
of the system
performance.
• System availability also
needs to be evaluated.

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 Methods of RBD Analysis
Analytical approach
• is to develop mathematical
model to describe the reliability
of a system.
• Advantage:
• More analysis can be
performed, such conditional
reliability, warranty etc.
RBD analysis can be • Disadvantage:
performed with both • It is difficult to get the model
analytical and simulation for a complex system or a
techniques. repairable system.
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 Methods of RBD Analysis
(cont’d)
Simulation approach
• is based on random number
generation, to get the time-to-
failure of each subsystem or
component.
• Advantage:
• It can be used for a highly
complex system.
RBD analysis can be • Disadvantage:
performed with both • It can be time consuming.
analytical and simulation • Depends on the number of
simulations.
techniques. • Lack of repeatability.
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 Reliability of Series
Systems
Success of a series The system
system reliability
• requires every single • equals to the product
subsystem or unit to of the reliability of
succeed. each individual
subsystem or unit.

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 Reliability of Parallel Systems – Active
Redundancy

Failure of a parallel system The system reliability

• means all subsystems is expressed as:
or units fail.

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 System Reliability in Standby – Inactive
Redundancy
For the 2-for-1
Standby subsystem standby system, the
• remains inactive system reliability is
expressed as:
until the active
ones fails.

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 Example of Complex
Systems
In this RBD, It would be difficult to
recognize which units
• assume all units are in series and which
are in active ones are in parallel,
redundancy.
• due to fact that unit C
has two paths leading
away from it, while
unit B and D have
only one.
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 System Availability
Availability For example,
• is a probability that a
system is operating
properly when it is
requested for use. a lamp with a 99.90% availability
• It is a performance means that, in average, there
characteristic for would be one out of one thousand
times when some needs to use the
repairable systems that lamp but finds out the lamp is not
accounts for both operational either because the
reliability and lamp is burned out or the lamp is
maintainability properties
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in the process of being replaced.
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of a subsystem or a unit.
Repairable Systems vs. Renewal
Process
For repairable system,

• the operation time is not

continuous.
• The life cycle contains a
sequence of up and down
states.
• One the system fails, its
repaired and restored to
its original operating
state.
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 Repairable Systems vs. Renewal
Process (cont’d)

Renewal process

• Th repeated process of
failure and repair is
classified as an
alternating renewal
process.
• And the associated
random variables are the
times-to-failure and the
times-to-repair.
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 What and Why Degradation-Based
Reliability?
Reliability of today’s
products
• has been greatly
improved, such that
Degradation-Based fewer failures could be
Reliability observed from reliability
• is a new technique to
testing.
evaluate product reliability • Reliability evaluation
based on its performance based on degradation
degradation measurements, provides a bridge
rather than its time-to- between reliability and
failure data.
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physics-of-failure.
28
 What and Why Degradation-Based
Reliability? (cont’d)
Degradation testing
• could be much shorter
because it does not
need to witness any
“hard failure”.
• It makes possible to
predict products’
residual life from
critical performance
measurements.
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 Graphic Showing Degradation-Based
Reliability

Following plot
illustrates three units
be tested for
performance
degradation. The
failure criterion is
determined based on
the performance
design specification.

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 Approaches for Degradation-Based
Reliability
• which defines Measure
the maximum performance Evaluate
allowable degradation the
degradation from multiple •to establish
level and would statistical product
test units over
constitute a time, models for reliability
failure once •either •based on
the
being reached. continuously performance its failure
Determine failure
criterion of a
at degradation.
Analyze the
criterion.
performance predetermin performance
characteristic, ed intervals. degradation
data

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 Difference in Reliability
Modeling
In Traditional Failure-
Based Reliability
Modeling
• The goal is to establish a
distribution function for the
variable of time-to-failure.
• Distribution parameters are
usually time independent.
• Reliability evaluation is
performed directly based
on the established function.
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 Difference in Reliability
Modeling
In Degradation-Based
Reliability Modeling
• The goal is to establish a
distribution function for
the variable for
performance
characteristic.
• Distribution parameters
are usually time
dependent.
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THANK YOU!
END OF CHAPTER
SEVEN