Reliability

Reliability
Definitions
 Reliability: The ability of a product, part,
or system to perform its intended function
under a prescribed set of conditions
 Failure: Situation in which a product, part,
or system does not perform as intended
 Normal operating conditions: The set of
conditions under which an item’s
reliability is specified

Reliability
Reliability Example
Determine the reliability of the system shown

.90 .92

.98 .90 .95

Reliability
Solution
The system can be reduced to a series of three components

.98 .90+.90(1-.90) .95+.92(1-.95)

.98 x .99 x .996 = .966

Reliability
Failure Rate Curve

Infant Failures due

Few (random) failures
mortality to wear-out
Time, T

Reliability
Failure Rate as an
Exponential Function

Reliability = e -T/MTBF

1- e -T/MTBF

T Time

Reliability
Normal Approximation

Reliability

0 z

Reliability
Availability
 The fraction of time a piece of equipment
is expected to be available for operation

MTBF
Availability 
MTBF  MTR

MTBF = mean time between failures

MTR = mean time to repair

Reliability
Improving Reliability
 Component design
 Production/assembly techniques
 Testing
 Redundancy
 Preventive maintenance procedures
 User education
 System design

Reliability