Comparisons and bounds for expected lifetimes of reliability systems

Sharp bounds on expectations of lifetimes of coherent and mixed systems composed of elements with independent and either identically or non-identically distributed lifetimes are expressed in terms of expected lifetimes of components. Similar evaluations are concluded for the respective mean residual lifetimes. In the IID case, improved inequalities dependent on a concentration parameter connected to the Gini dispersion index are obtained. The results can be used to compare systems with component lifetimes ordered in the convex ordering. In the INID case, some refined bounds are derived in terms of the expected lifetimes of series systems of smaller sizes, and the expected lifetime of single unit for the equivalent systems with IID components. The latter can be further simplified in the case of weak Schur-concavity and Schur-convexity of the system generalized domination polynomial.