Reliability analysis and preventive maintenance policy for consecutive k-out-of-n :F balanced system under failure criterion operating in shock environment

This paper presents a consecutive k-out-of-n: F balance system in a shock environment, where the state transition of component is induced by external shocks. If a predetermined threshold number of effective shocks are applied to component in a critical state, the component will fail. The state of the system is defined by the number of consecutive failing component groups in the system, which leads to system failure when a critical number of consecutive failing components is reached. To minimize maintenance costs, we propose a preventive maintenance method with an optimization model. We use finite Markov chain imbedding and Phase-type distribution to calculate component group failure rates and associated probability functions in discrete and continuous time, respectively. The validity and accuracy of the model are confirmed by numerical examples and Monte Carlo simulations.