Failure Mechanisms Cumulative Model for Reliability Evaluation of k-Out-of-n System with Different Types of Failure Mechanisms

It's necessary to consider the impact of load sharing when in k-out-of-n system reliability assessment. In this work, we propose a Failure Mechanism Cumulative Model to consider the loading history of the load sharing effect in k-out-of-n system, where correlativity among failure mechanisms include the damage cumulative between continuous degradation and compound point degradation with the sudden failure due to shock are considered. When one component in the k-out-of-n system fails, failure mechanisms in other surviving components will be accelerated. At the same time also need consider the damage cumulative relationship between the failure mechanisms in surviving components. By deriving the damage equation and constructing failure behavior logic, estimates of system reliability of k-out-of-n system with damage cumulative between different types of failure mechanisms are generated. In the case study, a system is presented to illustrate the practical applicability of the proposed approach. And utilize a combined Monte-Carlo and Binary Decision Diagram method, some damage accumulation curves and reliability curves are obtained at the end of this paper.