Reliability analysis of repairable multi-state system with common bus performance sharing

In this paper, an instantaneous availability model for repairable multi-state system (MSS) with common bus performance sharing is proposed. The repairable MSS consists of some multi-state units and a common bus performance redistribution system. Each unit in the system has several performance levels and must satisfy its individual random demand. A unit can transmit the surplus performance to other units in real time through the common bus performance redistribution system, if it has a performance that exceeds its demand. The entire system fails if the demand of any unit is not satisfied. A new method based on the combination of the stochastic process method and the universal generating function technique is suggested to evaluate the instantaneous availability and the mean instantaneous performance deficiency of the proposed repairable MSS. Two examples are given for applications in the end. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.