ORDER STATISTICS WITH MEMORY: A MODEL WITH RELIABILITY APPLICATIONS

An extended model of order statistics based on possibly different distributions is introduced and analyzed. In the interpretation of successive failure times in a k-out-of- n system, say, until each failure, the time periods under previous (increasing) loads exerted on the remaining components are recorded. Then the lifetime distribution of the system depends on the complete failure scheme. Thus, order statistics with memory provide an alternative to the use of sequential order statistics, which form a Markov chain. The quantities as well as their spacings, the interoccurrence times, can be compared by means of stochastic ordering.