Advances in System Reliability Engineering


Book Description

Recent Advances in System Reliability Engineering describes and evaluates the latest tools, techniques, strategies, and methods in this topic for a variety of applications. Special emphasis is put on simulation and modelling technology which is growing in influence in industry, and presents challenges as well as opportunities to reliability and systems engineers. Several manufacturing engineering applications are addressed, making this a particularly valuable reference for readers in that sector. - Contains comprehensive discussions on state-of-the-art tools, techniques, and strategies from industry - Connects the latest academic research to applications in industry including system reliability, safety assessment, and preventive maintenance - Gives an in-depth analysis of the benefits and applications of modelling and simulation to reliability




Challenges and New Trends in Power Electronic Devices Reliability


Book Description

The rapid increase in new power electronic devices and converters for electric transportation and smart grid technologies requires a deep analysis of their component performances, considering all of the different environmental scenarios, overload conditions, and high stress operations. Therefore, evaluation of the reliability and availability of these devices becomes fundamental both from technical and economical points of view. The rapid evolution of technologies and the high reliability level offered by these components have shown that estimating reliability through the traditional approaches is difficult, as historical failure data and/or past observed scenarios demonstrate. With the aim to propose new approaches for the evaluation of reliability, in this book, eleven innovative contributions are collected, all focused on the reliability assessment of power electronic devices and related components.




Reliability Engineering


Book Description

An Integrated Approach to Product Development Reliability Engineering presents an integrated approach to the design, engineering, and management of reliability activities throughout the life cycle of a product, including concept, research and development, design, manufacturing, assembly, sales, and service. Containing illustrative guides that include worked problems, numerical examples, homework problems, a solutions manual, and class-tested materials, it demonstrates to product development and manufacturing professionals how to distribute key reliability practices throughout an organization. The authors explain how to integrate reliability methods and techniques in the Six Sigma process and Design for Six Sigma (DFSS). They also discuss relationships between warranty and reliability, as well as legal and liability issues. Other topics covered include: Reliability engineering in the 21st Century Probability life distributions for reliability analysis Process control and process capability Failure modes, mechanisms, and effects analysis Health monitoring and prognostics Reliability tests and reliability estimation Reliability Engineering provides a comprehensive list of references on the topics covered in each chapter. It is an invaluable resource for those interested in gaining fundamental knowledge of the practical aspects of reliability in design, manufacturing, and testing. In addition, it is useful for implementation and management of reliability programs.




Complex Engineered Systems


Book Description

This book sheds light on the large-scale engineering systems that shape and guide our everyday lives. It does this by bringing together the latest research and practice defining the emerging field of Complex Engineered Systems. Understanding, designing, building and controlling such complex systems is going to be a central challenge for engineers in the coming decades. This book is a step toward addressing that challenge.




Reliability of Power Electronic Converter Systems


Book Description

The main aims of power electronic converter systems (PECS) are to control, convert, and condition electrical power flow from one form to another through the use of solid state electronics. This book outlines current research into the scientific modeling, experimentation, and remedial measures for advancing the reliability, availability, system robustness, and maintainability of PECS at different levels of complexity.




Improving Product Reliability and Software Quality


Book Description

The authoritative guide to the effective design and production of reliable technology products, revised and updated While most manufacturers have mastered the process of producing quality products, product reliability, software quality and software security has lagged behind. The revised second edition of Improving Product Reliability and Software Quality offers a comprehensive and detailed guide to implementing a hardware reliability and software quality process for technology products. The authors – noted experts in the field – provide useful tools, forms and spreadsheets for executing an effective product reliability and software quality development process and explore proven software quality and product reliability concepts. The authors discuss why so many companies fail after attempting to implement or improve their product reliability and software quality program. They outline the critical steps for implementing a successful program. Success hinges on establishing a reliability lab, hiring the right people and implementing a reliability and software quality process that does the right things well and works well together. Designed to be accessible, the book contains a decision matrix for small, medium and large companies. Throughout the book, the authors describe the hardware reliability and software quality process as well as the tools and techniques needed for putting it in place. The concepts, ideas and material presented are appropriate for any organization. This updated second edition: Contains new chapters on Software tools, Software quality process and software security. Expands the FMEA section to include software fault trees and software FMEAs. Includes two new reliability tools to accelerate design maturity and reduce the risk of premature wearout. Contains new material on preventative maintenance, predictive maintenance and Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) to better manage repair cost and unscheduled downtime. Presents updated information on reliability modeling and hiring reliability and software engineers. Includes a comprehensive review of the reliability process from a multi-disciplinary viewpoint including new material on uprating and counterfeit components. Discusses aspects of competition, key quality and reliability concepts and presents the tools for implementation. Written for engineers, managers and consultants lacking a background in product reliability and software quality theory and statistics, the updated second edition of Improving Product Reliability and Software Quality explores all phases of the product life cycle.




Methods for Reliability Improvement and Risk Reduction


Book Description

Reliability is one of the most important attributes for the products and processes of any company or organization. This important work provides a powerful framework of domain-independent reliability improvement and risk reducing methods which can greatly lower risk in any area of human activity. It reviews existing methods for risk reduction that can be classified as domain-independent and introduces the following new domain-independent reliability improvement and risk reduction methods: Separation Stochastic separation Introducing deliberate weaknesses Segmentation Self-reinforcement Inversion Reducing the rate of accumulation of damage Permutation Substitution Limiting the space and time exposure Comparative reliability models The domain-independent methods for reliability improvement and risk reduction do not depend on the availability of past failure data, domain-specific expertise or knowledge of the failure mechanisms underlying the failure modes. Through numerous examples and case studies, this invaluable guide shows that many of the new domain-independent methods improve reliability at no extra cost or at a low cost. Using the proven methods in this book, any company and organisation can greatly enhance the reliability of its products and operations.




Statistical Methods for Reliability Data


Book Description

An authoritative guide to the most recent advances in statistical methods for quantifying reliability Statistical Methods for Reliability Data, Second Edition (SMRD2) is an essential guide to the most widely used and recently developed statistical methods for reliability data analysis and reliability test planning. Written by three experts in the area, SMRD2 updates and extends the long- established statistical techniques and shows how to apply powerful graphical, numerical, and simulation-based methods to a range of applications in reliability. SMRD2 is a comprehensive resource that describes maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods for solving practical problems that arise in product reliability and similar areas of application. SMRD2 illustrates methods with numerous applications and all the data sets are available on the book’s website. Also, SMRD2 contains an extensive collection of exercises that will enhance its use as a course textbook. The SMRD2's website contains valuable resources, including R packages, Stan model codes, presentation slides, technical notes, information about commercial software for reliability data analysis, and csv files for the 93 data sets used in the book's examples and exercises. The importance of statistical methods in the area of engineering reliability continues to grow and SMRD2 offers an updated guide for, exploring, modeling, and drawing conclusions from reliability data. SMRD2 features: Contains a wealth of information on modern methods and techniques for reliability data analysis Offers discussions on the practical problem-solving power of various Bayesian inference methods Provides examples of Bayesian data analysis performed using the R interface to the Stan system based on Stan models that are available on the book's website Includes helpful technical-problem and data-analysis exercise sets at the end of every chapter Presents illustrative computer graphics that highlight data, results of analyses, and technical concepts Written for engineers and statisticians in industry and academia, Statistical Methods for Reliability Data, Second Edition offers an authoritative guide to this important topic.




Reliability and Risk


Book Description

We all like to know how reliable and how risky certain situations are, and our increasing reliance on technology has led to the need for more precise assessments than ever before. Such precision has resulted in efforts both to sharpen the notions of risk and reliability, and to quantify them. Quantification is required for normative decision-making, especially decisions pertaining to our safety and wellbeing. Increasingly in recent years Bayesian methods have become key to such quantifications. Reliability and Risk provides a comprehensive overview of the mathematical and statistical aspects of risk and reliability analysis, from a Bayesian perspective. This book sets out to change the way in which we think about reliability and survival analysis by casting them in the broader context of decision-making. This is achieved by: Providing a broad coverage of the diverse aspects of reliability, including: multivariate failure models, dynamic reliability, event history analysis, non-parametric Bayes, competing risks, co-operative and competing systems, and signature analysis. Covering the essentials of Bayesian statistics and exchangeability, enabling readers who are unfamiliar with Bayesian inference to benefit from the book. Introducing the notion of “composite reliability”, or the collective reliability of a population of items. Discussing the relationship between notions of reliability and survival analysis and econometrics and financial risk. Reliability and Risk can most profitably be used by practitioners and research workers in reliability and survivability as a source of information, reference, and open problems. It can also form the basis of a graduate level course in reliability and risk analysis for students in statistics, biostatistics, engineering (industrial, nuclear, systems), operations research, and other mathematically oriented scientists, wherein the instructor could supplement the material with examples and problems.




Reliability of Safety-Critical Systems


Book Description

Presents the theory and methodology for reliability assessments of safety-critical functions through examples from a wide range of applications Reliability of Safety-Critical Systems: Theory and Applications provides a comprehensive introduction to reliability assessments of safety-related systems based on electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic (E/E/PE) technology. With a focus on the design and development phases of safety-critical systems, the book presents theory and methods required to document compliance with IEC 61508 and the associated sector-specific standards. Combining theory and practical applications, Reliability of Safety-Critical Systems: Theory and Applications implements key safety-related strategies and methods to meet quantitative safety integrity requirements. In addition, the book details a variety of reliability analysis methods that are needed during all stages of a safety-critical system, beginning with specification and design and advancing to operations, maintenance, and modification control. The key categories of safety life-cycle phases are featured, including strategies for the allocation of reliability performance requirements; assessment methods in relation to design; and reliability quantification in relation to operation and maintenance. Issues and benefits that arise from complex modern technology developments are featured, as well as: Real-world examples from large industry facilities with major accident potential and products owned by the general public such as cars and tools Plentiful worked examples throughout that provide readers with a deeper understanding of the core concepts and aid in the analysis and solution of common issues when assessing all facets of safety-critical systems Approaches that work on a wide scope of applications and can be applied to the analysis of any safety-critical system A brief appendix of probability theory for reference With an emphasis on how safety-critical functions are introduced into systems and facilities to prevent or mitigate the impact of an accident, this book is an excellent guide for professionals, consultants, and operators of safety-critical systems who carry out practical, risk, and reliability assessments of safety-critical systems. Reliability of Safety-Critical Systems: Theory and Applications is also a useful textbook for courses in reliability assessment of safety-critical systems and reliability engineering at the graduate-level, as well as for consulting companies offering short courses in reliability assessment of safety-critical systems.