Optimal Reliability Design By a Transformation Technique

One can determine the optimal redundancy and optimal component reliability for a multistage complex reliability system by an efficient transform solution technique. The original reliability problem of a function of number of components and individual component reliabilities is transformed into an equivalent resource allocation problem. The transformation involves a resource-stage reliability function This function provides a relationship between the amount of resources expended for a stage with the corresponding number of components and component reliabilities. The transformation gives a resource allocation problem that can be solved efficiently. The solution procedure handles multi-constraint equations, and applies to a multistage complex system with any form of redundancy as long as the system reliability can be calculated.