An extended optimal replacement model of systems subject to shocks

A system is subject to shocks that arrive according to a non-homogeneous Poisson process. As shocks occur a system has two types of failures: type I failure (minor failure) is rectified by a minimal repair, whereas type II failure (catastrophic failure) is removed by replacement. The probability of a type II failure is permitted to depend on the number of shocks since the last replacement. This paper proposes a generalized replacement policy where a system is replaced at the nth type I failure or first type II failure or at age T, whichever occurs first. The cost of the minimal repair of the system at age t depends on the random part C(t) and deterministic paper c(t). The expected cost rate is obtained. The optimal n* and optimal T* which would minimize the cost rate are derived and discussed. Various special cases are considered and detailed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.