Reliability Concepts

System Decomposition

1
 Example
Level Label
1 Rail system
2 Track (distributed), Rolling stock, Stations,...
3 For rolling stock: wagons, coaches, etc.
For track: rail, bridges
4 For wagons: axles, body, etc.
5 For axles: Wheels
6 For wheels: Brakes, control mechanisms
7 For brakes: Brake pads, bolts, …

System Decomposition

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 Engineered
Primary Function
Object

Automobile Transport passengers and/or goods on roads

Photocopier Making copies of printed material

Provide power to propel ship or drive

Diesel Engine
generator to produce electricity

Thermal Power
Produce electricity from coal
Plant
Produce chemicals (e.g., fertiliser, paints,
Chemical Plant
cement, refining crude oil)
Rail Transport Carry passenger and freight on rail track

Types of functions
• Essential functions: This defines the intended
or primary function. Main purpose
• power plant  provide electric power on demand the network.

• Auxiliary functions: required to support the

primary function. what'srequiredto support mainpurpose
• example “preserving fluid integrity” is an auxiliary function of a
pump

• Protective functions: The goal here is to protect

people from injury and damage to the environment.
• Examples of these are relays that offer protection against current
surges,

• Information functions: These comprise

condition monitoring, gauges, alarms, etc

informs on what's wrong

gives indications

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 Failures
Definition 2.1. Failure is the termination of the
ability of an item to perform a required function

Types of failures
• Primary Failure:
– when the component fails due to natural causes
(e.g., failing due to natural aging).
• Secondary Failure:
– due to one or more of the following causes:
• the (primary) failure of some other component(s) afailure happens
• environmental factors, and/or heat that leads to another
• actions of the user. notwelltrainedworkers failure
• Command Fault:
– when a component is in non‐working (rather than
a failed) state because of improper control signals
or noise
– (e.g., a faulty action of a logic controller switching off a pump).

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FMEA BottomUpApproach FTA Topdown Approach

listeachfailure mode identify system failed
identifycause of each failure identify cause of thefailure
see howsevereeachfailure is determine severity
does it affect other components
E functions
consequences

Reliability
dependability
absence of failure
successfuloperation performance collect data
Toquantify reliability T time to failure
probability is used T randomvariable
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 Definition 2.2. A fault is the state of the system
characterized by its inability to perform its
required function

Definition 2.3. A failure mode is a description of

a fault.

Classification of failure modes

• Intermittent failures: Failures that last only for a short
time. turningsomething off as on to work
• Extended failures: Failures that continue until some
corrective action rectifies the failure.
– Complete Failures:  total loss of function.
– Partial Failures:  partial loss of function.
Each of these can be further subdivided into :
– Sudden Failures:
• occur without any warning.
– Gradual Failures:
• with signals to warn of the occurrence of a failure.
complete and sudden failure  catastrophic failure and
gradual and partial failure  degraded failure.

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 Failure causes
• Design Failure
• Weakness Failure: Due to weakness (inherent
or induced (system cannot stand the stress it
encounters)
• Manufacturing Failure
• Aging Failure
• Misuse Failure
• Mishandling Failures

Failure severity
• Catastrophic: Failures that result in death or
total system loss
• Critical: Failures that result in severe injury or
major system damage
• Marginal: Failures that result in minor injury
or minor system damage
• Negligible: Failures that result in less than
minor injury or system damage.

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 FMEABottomUpApproach FTA Topdown Approach
listeachfailuremode identify system failed
identifycause of eachfailure identify cause of thefailure
see howsevereeachfailure is determine severity
does it affect other components
E functions
consequences
Linking System and Component Failures
• Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) fistcomponents

failure mode
• FMEA involves reviewing a system in terms of its
sub‐systems, assemblies and so on, down to the
component level, to identify failure modes and fromdata
I causes and the effects of such failures on system’s
what
happened

2
function
t
auses whatcould happen
t • Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)

Icausedfaita
needs • FTA is a deductive (top‐down) method of analysis
aimed at pinpointing the causes or combinations of will it lead
causes that can lead to the defined top event
to other fain
tothercomponen

Failure Failure Failure Effects

Component Function
Mode Cause
Local System Unit

7
Symbol Name Description

An event which result from the

Resultant event
combination of other events

An event that cannot be developed

Basic event
any further

The output event occurs if any of the

OR gate
input events occur

The output event occurs only if all of

AND gate
the input events occur
Undeveloped A primary event that represents a
event part of the system that is not yet
developed

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 resultant
Basic effect
event

Reliability definition
The reliability of an item conveys the concept of
dependability, successful operation or performance,
and the absence of failures.

The ability of an item to perform a required function,

under given environmental and operational conditions
and for a stated period of time” (ISO 8402, 1986).

The reliability of an item is the probability that the item

obability ol it
orking wout failing will perform its intended function for a specified time
period when operating under normal environmental
1 conditions.
Reliability
dependability
absenceof failure
successfuloperation performance collectdata
Toquantifyreliability T timeto failure
probabinity is used T randomvariable 9
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 Time to first failure
Time to first failure is the time elapsed between when a
new item is put into operation (in continuous mode) till
it fails for the first time

Time to failure is a random variable T with pdf f(t) and

CDF F(t)

If item is working at time t  T>t

in failed state at time t  T≤ t

Probability of failure
If item is working at time t  T>t
in failed state at time t  T≤ t

P(T  t )  F (t )
Remember that
dF (t )
f (t ) 
dt

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 Reliability
R(t )  P(T  t )  1  F (t )

Mean Time to first Failure


MTTF   t f (t )dt
0


MTTF   R(t )dt
0

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 Reliability Block Diagram
• A reliability block diagram is an alternative way to
describing a system that is useful for reliability
analysis.
• Each component is represented by a block with two
end points.
• When the component is in its working state, there is
a connection between the two end points and this
connection is broken when the component is in a
failed state.
• A multi‐component system can be represented as a
network of such blocks with two end points.
• The system is in working state is there is a connected
path between the two end points. If no such path
exists, then the system is in a failed state.

n
RS (t )   Ri (t )
i 1

n
R S (t )  1   (1  R i (t ))
i 1

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