ISSN 1068-798X, Russian Engineering Research, 2007, Vol. 27, No. 8, pp. 529–532. © Allerton Press, Inc., 2007.
Original Russian Text © O.V. Taratynov, R.O. Taratynov, 2007, published in STIN, 2007, No. 5, pp. 2–6.
General Principles of Comprehensive Technical System
Reliability Evaluation
O. V. Taratynov and R. O. Taratynov
DOI: 10.3103/S1068798X07080114
The load and speed characteristics of the various
technical systems (metalworking equipment, transport
vehicles, and so on) have increased significantly in the
last ten years. In this connection there has been noted a
tendency for the improvement of these systems, prima-
rily in the stages of the design and technological prep-
aration for production.
However, for the more effective resolution of the
problems that arise in this connection, a fundamentally
new concept is needed. This concept is based on the
laws of the physics of the “minute” energies that act in
the working surfaces of the mechanical parts. One of
the most important directions of the resolution of the
design and technological problems is the control of the
latent energy that is concentrated in the interacting
objects (subassemblies and assemblies) of the technical
systems.
The mechanical, chemical, electrical, and other
effects that accumulate in the working surfaces of the
parts (in the stages of their machining) create an overall
physical and technical information field, which is
varying in time. We can control on the basis of the
decoding (description) of the data that are embedded in
this field the quality of the articles in the process of fab-
rication and assembly, thereby ensuring their high level
of safety and reliability during operation [1–3].
Since the domestic and foreign scientific studies that
are directed to obtaining the materials with a high level
of strength, approaching the theoretical strength, are
still in the form of laboratory studies and are far from
practical industrial application, we are proposing a
somewhat different approach to the improvement of the
reliability of the industrial technical systems.
We shall examine the methodology of the creation
of the modern competitive and highly reliable industrial
technical systems on the basis of an integrated
approach to the conditions of the generation of the qual-
ity characteristics of the working surfaces of the parts
in the course of their mechanical working, and to the
configurational solutions in the assembly of the techni-
cal systems on the basis of the conditions of their oper-
ation, primarily the load and speed conditions.
The analysis of the previous works in this direction
[4, 5, and others] made it possible to establish the fol-
529
lowing most significant principles of the proposed
methodology.
1. In the development of the technical system, it is
necessary to utilize the superposition principle, i.e.,
each of the components of the technical system (assem-
bly units, subassemblies, assemblies, modules) will
consist of the sum of several common technical param-
eters. Thus, the technical system can be represented, for
example, in the following form:
TS = F 1 ( v 1, m 1, N 1, C 1 ) + F 2 ( v 2, m 2, N 2, C 2 )
+ … + F i ( v i, m i, N i, C i ) + …,
where vi is the velocity; mi is the mass; Ni is the power;
Ci is a common technical parameter that is characteris-
tic for all the components of the given technical system.
It is well known that the design of the individual
component, corresponding to the superposition princi-
ple, may differ in the arrangement, number, and config-
uration of the individual parts, the dimensions, mass,
and properties of the materials that are used in produc-
ing the detail parts, and the requirements on the accu-
racy and quality of the working surfaces. However, the
ensemble of the basic physical and technical character-
istics must as a whole correspond closely to the product
specifications. This approach makes it possible to uti-
lize more effectively the high technologies and the prin-
ciples of modular design of the modern high-precision
and high-speed technical systems.
2. The technical system must satisfy the quantiza-
tion principle, i.e., the addition or replacement of its
components must provide for the transition of the tech-
nical system to a new, higher level with regard to the
universality and the fabricability of the article, the qual-
ity, productivity, safety, and so on.
For example, the fabricability of the article (assem-
bly, subassembly, and so on) is “the entire ensemble of
the basic properties of the assembly unit that determine
its capability for achieving (assuring) rational function-
ing during operation” [6]. If an assembly consists of
five subassemblies (modules), one of which for some
reason must be replaced by a new unit, the design and
technological characteristics of the new subassembly
must be no lower than those of the other four, and
should be higher with respect to some of the operational
parameters.
530 O.V. TARATYNOV, R.O. TARATYNOV
a11 a21 ai1 b11 b21 bi1
a12 a22 ai2 b12 b22 bi2
a1j a2j aij b1j b2j bij
Σaij Σbij
I II
a1j b1j
a2j b2j
aij bij
III
Fig. 1. Sequential variation of the quality parameters:
(I) and (II) first and second parts; (III) tribological system.
3. The basis for planning the technological process
of the machining of the working surfaces of the
machine parts must be the conditions of the operation
of the pairs of mated parts that constitute the assembly
unit of the technical system as a whole. This means that
the basic quality characteristics of the working surfaces
that are formed in the course of the fabrication of the
detail parts must correspond closely to the quality char-
acteristics during operation, and must not deteriorate
during assembly.
This situation is determined by the fact that in the
course of the run-in of the two contacting surfaces of
the indicated pair the initial quality parameters (the
microroughness and the macroroughness, for example)
may experience in the stage of the transition from run-
in to steady state wear significant changes that are char-
acteristic only for the given pair.
The same situation applies to the other quality
parameters as well (the microhardness, the residual
stresses, the density of the dislocations, and so on).
Therefore the planning of the machining technological
process should start not with the selection and specifi-
cation of the technique of the obtaining of the basic
workpiece but rather with the analysis of the interaction
of the pair of mated parts in the course of operation.
Then we turn to ensuring the required quality parame-
ters by various methods: first by finish machining and
then by rough machining, and only after this to the tech-
nique of the obtaining of the basic workpiece. In this
process the heredity principle must be taken into
account in each stage.
The sequential change of the values of the quality
parameters of the working surface of the machine part
RUSSIAN ENGINEERING RESEARCH
from the starting workpiece to the specified final state
can be represented in the form of an oriented graph
(Fig. 1). Here a11, …, aij are the properties of one of the
mated parts; b11, …, bij are the properties of the second
part (their working surfaces form the tribological sys-
tem in the course of operation).
i
The number A j of the properties that are transferred
in the production process from the workpiece to the fin-
i
ished part can be represented by the equations A j =
∑ a /∑ a ∑ ∑
i
i ij and B j = b i / b ij for the first and sec-
ond parts, respectively, where ai and bi are the initial
quality parameters in the hierarchical system of the pro-
duction of the parts.
This structural representation of the nature of the
forming of the quality characteristics of the articles
makes it possible to simplify the process of optimizing
the machining technologies. 4. To ensure the reliability,
safety, and effective functioning of the technical sys-
tem, it is necessary to have sufficient (i.e, as defined by
the specifications) compatibility of the intrinsic physi-
cal and technical information fields of the components
of this technical system.
4. The basis of this principle is the following con-
cept. After integrating the components and assemblies
and assembling the technical system as a whole, its
information field is finally formulated. This field can be
evaluated in terms of various characteristics: the
mechanical characteristics (for example, with regard to
the accuracy of the positioning of the actuating mecha-
nisms, the stiffness, and so on); the physical character-
istics (the frequency characteristics, the magnetic and
thermal fields, the radioactivity, and others); the chem-
ical characteristics (the level of the emission of gases
and vapors, their composition, and so on). The ensem-
ble of the foregoing characteristics characterizes in the
final analysis the integral (resultant) physical and tech-
nical information field of the technical system.
The first three principles, which largely reflect the
tendency that has been noted in the course of the last ten
years toward globalization in the area of the configura-
tion and the technology of the production (fabrication
and assembly) of the detail parts and assemblies, can be
used in designing the modern high-precision and high-
speed technical systems.
Some of the foregoing principles have been exam-
ined previously [1, 5, 6, and others]. Here they are sys-
tematized for their practical realization in creating the
modern technical systems. The fourth principle is of
considerable interest, since it makes it possible to
expand the technological capabilities of the technical
systems by formulating the particular production con-
ditions that take into account the physical and technical
information fields of the surfaces that interact in the
course of operation.
The basis of this approach (the fourth principle) is
the fact that on the macrolevel and microlevel the work-
Vol. 27 No. 8 2007
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF COMPREHENSIVE TECHNICAL SYSTEM
(a) (b) ∆f
m1 m2 m3 m4 f1 f2 f3 f4
fout
fout
f1 f2 f3 f4
Fig. 2. Scheme of assembly (a) and its frequency character-
istics (b).
piece surface layer that is being machined “remembers”
the external actions and reacts (“responds”) to them in
a corresponding fashion, sort of preparing itself to
counteract the subsequent analogous actions. The need
for invariance of the physical and technical information
fields of the components of the technical system is for-
mulated here for the first time. Therefore we shall
present the data from some studies that have been per-
formed in this direction [4, 5]. In the course of the
machining of the detail part, its operating surfaces
acquire not only definite geometric parameters but also
certain physical and mechanical characteristics: the
microhardness, the residual stresses, the phase state, the
density of the dislocations, and so on. Therefore the
part after fabrication has its intrinsic physical and tech-
nical information field, which is characterized by the
parameters that were listed above.
In the course of the assembly of the detail parts into
the subcomplexes, complexes, and assemblies as a
result of pressing, adjusting, and the creation of inter-
ferences, the information fields of the working surfaces
interact (combine or subtract) and finally form the
information field of the particular component and of the
technical system as a whole.
The information field of the technical system has its
particular mechanical, physical, and chemical charac-
teristics, which in the final analysis determine the effec-
tiveness, reliability, and service life of the system.
It is well known that in all the stages of the life cycle
of the technical system there is also present the so-
called human factor, with which there are associated
the causes of the possible failures, breakdowns, and
accidents. The human factor may lead to errors and
mistakes, both in the planning and designing of the
technical system and also in the course of its fabrica-
tion, testing, and operation. These errors may interact,
changing the specified characteristics of the informa-
tion field of the technical system, which in turn in the
course of operation may have an influence on mankind.
In the course of the operation of the technical sys-
tem, the characteristics of its information field change
as a result of the wearing of the working surfaces, the
aging of the metals, and the change of the initial clear-
ances, interferences, and other conditions. Upon reach-
ing the values that define the allowable deviation of the
information field of the technical system from its initial
(original) value, the operation of the system must be
terminated.
RUSSIAN ENGINEERING RESEARCH Vol. 27 No. 8
531
S
2
1 ∆E
E ΣIFTS
Fig. 3. Dependence of technical system failure level S on its
information field characteristic ∑ IF TS .
Figure 2a shows as an example a very simple scheme
(layout) of an assembly that consists of several parts
(modules) of the masses mi, each of which has its natural
frequency fi. The sum of these frequencies (Fig. 2b) must
not exceed the allowable frequency fout at the output of
the assembly after its fabrication, i.e., ∑
f i + ∆f ≤ fout,
where ∆f is defined in Fig. 2b. In the course of the oper-
ation of the assembly, as a result of the wearing of the
working surfaces and, consequently, the change of their
physical and mechanical characteristics, the frequen-
cies fi also change, and the frequency fout may exceed
the allowable limits.
We can also examine similarly the other physical
and technical parameters that characterize any particu-
lar tribological system or assembled unit, for example
the accuracy of the positioning of the parts, the radioac-
tive radiation level, and so on.
Thus, we can formulate on the basis of the foregoing
the following principle: each technical system has its
own particular information field. This field is the inte-
gral ensemble of the information fields of its compo-
nents (parts, complexes, assemblies, aggregates) and is
characterized by definite physical, mechanical, and
chemical characteristics, the optimal values of which
correspond to the maximal reliability and safety of the
functioning of the technical system in the course of its
operation.
This concept is illustrated graphically in Fig. 3,
where S is the level of the failures of the technical sys-
tem (S = 1/P; P is the safety of the technical system in
the course of operation); ∑IF TS is the integral infor-
mation field that characterizes the given technical sys-
tem. The point E corresponds to the rational (optimal)
value and relationship of the particular quality charac-
teristics Ki of the technical system, i.e., to the minimal
value of S = F(Ki ) and the maximal safety P.
The curve 1 and the parameter E correspond to the
quantization principle, i.e., the information field as an
energetic system can occupy the level Ei < E (for exam-
2007
532 O.V. TARATYNOV, R.O. TARATYNOV
ple, E = 0) or the level Ei > E (for example, E = En,
where n > 1).
Using the invariance and superposition principles,
we can represent the general relation that describes the
curve 1 in the form of the following partial differential
equation:
∂S ∂S ∂S
dS = ---------dK 1 + ---------dK 2 + … + --------dK i + …. (1)
∂K 1 ∂K 2 ∂K i
For finding the particular solutions of equation (1),
the curve 1 can be represented in the form of the
curve 2, where ∆E is the confidence interval of suffi-
cient reliability and safety of the operation of the tech-
nical system with its specified operational load and
speed characteristics.
The nature of the real curves that are similar to the
curve 1 in Fig. 3 depends on the quality characteristics
of the working surfaces and the level of the compatibil-
ity of the information fields of the components of the
technical system. The higher the quality, the lower is
the level of the failures and the higher are the reliability
and the dynamic stability of the technical system. The
exceeding of the operational load and speed regimes
also influences the reliability and the safety of the oper-
ation of the technical system. Therefore, we can finally
evaluate the quality of the parts, the assemblies, and the
technical system as a whole only in the course of its
operation.
CONCLUSIONS
(1) The absence of account for the characteristics of
the quality of the surface layer, which varies from oper-
ation to operation in the course of the fabrication of the
part, makes it impossible to establish the connection
between the tribological characteristics of the technical
systems and the properties of the materials of the fric-
tion pair in the course of operation.
RUSSIAN ENGINEERING RESEARCH
(2) The representation and description of the surface
layer of the part in the form of an information field, the
characteristics of which vary in the course of time, will
lead to the creation of promising technological pro-
cesses.
(3) The further development of the information field
concept will make it possible to realize the general
approach to the solution of the problems of ensuring the
specified quality parameters with account for the
requirements of the nanotechnological processes (for
example, ultrasonic plastic deformation), the urgent
need for which is increasing rapidly in connection with
the increase of the load and speed characteristics of the
technical systems.
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