4S

Reliability

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives
Define reliability
Perform reliability computations
Explain the purpose of redundancy in a
system

4S-2

Reliability
Reliability: The ability of a product, part,
or system to perform its intended
function under a prescribed set of
conditions

Failure: Situation in which a product,

part, or system does not perform as
intended

Normal operating conditions: The set

of conditions under which an items
reliability is specified

4S-3

Reliability is a Probability
Probability that the product or system
will:
Function when activated
Function for a given length of time

Independent events
Events whose occurrence or
nonoccurrence do not influence each other

Redundancy
The use of backup components to increase
reliability
4S-4

Rule 1

Lamp 1

.90

Lamp 2

.80

.90 x .80 = .72

4S-5

Rule 2

.80

Lamp 2 (backup)

.90 + (1-.90)*.80 = .98

.90
Lamp 1

4S-6

Rule 3
.70
Lamp 3 (backup for Lamp 2)

.80
Lamp 2 (backup for Lamp1)

1 P(all fail)
1-[(1-.90)*(1-.80)*(1-.70)] = .994

.90
Lamp 1

4S-7

Example S-1 Reliability

Determine the reliability of the system shown

.98

.90

.92

.90

.95

4S-8

Example S-1 Solution

The system can be reduced to a series of three
components

.98

.90+.90(1-.90)

.95+.92(1-.95)

.98 x .99 x .996 = .966

4S-9

Failure Rate

Failure Rate

Figure 4S.1

Infant
mortality

Failures due
Few (random) failures
to wear-out
Time, T

4S-10

Exponential Distribution
Figure 4S.2

Reliability = e -T/MTBF
1- e -T/MTBF
T

Time

4S-11

Normal Distribution
Figure 4S.3

Reliability

4S-12

Availability
The fraction of time a piece of equipment
is expected to be available for operation
Availability

MTBF
MTBF MTR

MTBF = mean time between failures

MTR = mean time to repair

4S-13

Improving Reliability

Component design
Production/assembly techniques
Testing
Redundancy/backups
Preventive maintenance procedures
User education
System design

4S-14