Particle swam optimization based reliability-redundancy allocation in a type-2 fuzzy environment

In this paper, we have addressed the reliability-redundancy allocation problem with a particle swam optimization based technique. The parameters of the system components are actually imprecise or uncertain quantity since those are generally guessed by the designers during the designtime. Thus, important features of the designed system, viz. reliability, costs, weight etc very suitably qualifies to be considered as fuzzy quantity. Our problem formulation considers these parameters as type-2 fuzzy quantity. There are few reports where the problem has been studied under type-1 fuzzy uncertainty. As far as we know, no research has been reported where the problem has been addressed with a particle swam optimization based approach in a type-2 fuzzy environment. Suitable examples are included to demonstrate our approach. Results are compared showing that the type-2 fuzzy uncertainty based approach outperforms other recently reported results.