Hybrid block replacement and inspection policies for a multi-component system with heterogeneous component lives

Novel replacement policies that are hybrids of inspection maintenance and block replacement are developed for an n identical component series system in which the component parts used at successive replacements arise from a heterogeneous population. The heterogeneous nature of components implies a mixed distribution for time to failure. In these circumstances, a hybrid policy comprising two phases, an early inspection phase and a later wear-out replacement phase, may be appropriate. The policy has some similarity to burn-in maintenance. The simplest policy described is such a hybrid and comprises a block-type or periodic replacement policy with an embedded block or periodic inspection policy. We use a three state failure model, in which a component may be good, defective or failed, in order to consider inspection maintenance. Hybrid block replacement and age-based inspection, and opportunistic hybrid policies will also arise naturally in these circumstances and these are briefly investigated. For the simplest policy, an approximation is used to determine the long-run cost and the system reliability. The policies have the interesting property that the system reliability may be a maximum when the long-run cost is close to its minimum. The failure model implies that the effect of maintenance is heterogeneous. The policies themselves imply that maintenance is carried out more prudently to newer than to older systems. The maintenance of traction motor bearings on underground trains is used to illustrate the ideas in the paper.     

Krylov Subspaces Associated with Higher-Order Linear Dynamical Systems

A standard approach to model reduction of large-scale higher-order linear dynamical systems is to rewrite the system as an equivalent first-order system and then employ Krylov-subspace techniques for model reduction of first-order systems. This paper presents some results about the structure of the block-Krylov subspaces induced by the matrices of such equivalent first-order formulations of higher-order systems. Two general classes of matrices, which exhibit the key structures of the matrices of first-order formulations of higher-order systems, are introduced. It is proved that for both classes, the block-Krylov subspaces induced by the matrices in these classes can be viewed as multiple copies of certain subspaces of the state space of the original higher-order system. AMS subject classification (2000) 65F30, 15A57, 65P99, 41A21     

Mini-Maximizers for Reaction-Diffusion Systems with Skew-Gradient Structure

A reaction-diffusion system with skew-gradient structure is a sort of activator-inhibitor system that consists of two gradient systems coupled in a skew-symmetric way. Any steady state of such a system corresponds to a critical point of some functional. The aim of this paper is to study the relation between a stability property as a steady state of the reaction-diffusion system and a mini-maximizing property as a critical point of the functional. It is shown that a steady state of the skew-gradient system is stable regardless of time constants if and only if it is a mini-maximizer of the functional. It is also shown that the mini-maximizing property is closely related with the diffusion-induced instability. Moreover, by using the property that any mini-maximizer on a convex domain is spatially homogeneous, quite a general instability criterion is obtained for some activator-inhibitor systems. These results are applied to the diffusive FitzHugh-Nagumo system and the Gierer-Meinhardt system.     

A novel replacement policy for a linear deteriorating system using stochastic process with dependent components

In this study, a mechanical system with linear deterioration and preventive maintenance is considered. The state of the system over time is represented by a semicontinuous stochastic process with dependent components. The system cycles through on and off periods during its lifetime. The state of the system deteriorates linearly as a function of the usage time during on periods. When the system is offline, preventive maintenance is conducted, which improves the system state by a random amount. The system's on and off times and random improvement amounts are assumed to have general distributions. For such a system, our objective is to determine the expected value and variance for the number of preventive maintenance activities needed during the system lifetime and to propose a novel replacement policy for the system based on delay‐time modeling. Finally, the effectiveness of the obtained asymptotic results and the proposed replacement policy are tested through simulation.     

Periodical replacement problem without assuming minimal repair

In this paper, a periodical replacement problem with a general repair is considered where a system is replaced at only scheduled times kT (k = 0,1,…) and is repaired whenever it fails. By general repair, we mean that repair brings the state of the system to a certain better state. A stochastic model to describe the operation in time of a repairable system which is maintained by a general repair is developed. The model contains the minimal repair case in which repair restores a system to its functioning condition just prior to failure. The sensitivity of replacement policies under a general repair to derivation from the minimal repair assumption is numerically examined. It will be seen that the policies are insensitive when the deterioration of the system is not fast and the replacement cost is high relative to the repair cost. The minimal repair assumption is then justified for such situations.     

Optimal maintenance scheduling for a complex manufacturing system subject to deterioration

We address the problem of determining inspection strategy and replacement policy for a deteriorating complex multi-component manufacturing system whose state is partially observable. We develop inspection and replacement scheduling models and other simple maintenance scheduling models via employing an imperfect repair model coupled with a damage process induced by operational conditions. The system state in performance of the imperfectly repaired system is modelled using a proportional intensity model incorporating a damage process and a virtual age process caused by repair. The system is monitored at periodic times and maintenance actions are carried out in response to the observed system state. Decisions to perform imperfect repair and replacement are based on the system state and crossing of a replacement threshold. The model proposed here aims at joint determination of a cost-optimal inspection and replacement policy along with an optimal level of maintenance which result in low maintenance cost and high operational performance and reliability of the system. To demonstrate the use of the model in practical applications a numerical example is provided. Solutions to optimal system parameters are obtained and the response of the model to these parameters is examined. Finally some features of the model are demonstrated. The approach presented provides a framework so that different scenario can be explored.     

多状态可靠性系统动态signature及其剩余寿命分析

系统signature是分析系统可靠性的一个强有力的工具。本文研究了多状态系统的动态signature。Signature概念被拓展到多维的情形,并将其应用于两状态元件下多态关联系统的分析,得到系统在每一状态下的联合生存函数的表达式,探究了系统在时刻的动态signature,为处于工作状态的多状态系统在时刻t接受检查,发现其处于l(t)状态并且恰好已发生了q(t)次元件失效,分别给出了两状态元件多态关联系统动态signature及其剩余寿命的表达式。     

Optimal replacement policy for multicomponent systems: An application to a dairy herd

We consider the problem of finding an optimal replacement policy for a system which has many components. The main difficulty in this problem is that there is an interaction among the items in the system. Thus, the optimal replacement decision for each item depends not only on its state, but also on those of the other items in the systems. This interaction is due to the the fact that the both the stock size and the supply of replacement items is limited. (Instead of an unlimited supply of standard replacement items as is implicitly assumed by most of the replacement models). In our application to dairy herd managenent the problem is further complicated by the fact that this limited supply is not exogenous to the process but is actually generated by it. This is due to the fact that almost all the replacement young cows are home grown. The traits of these young cows have genetic dependence on those of their parents. The dairy herd management problem is actually a special case of the joint replacement and inventory problem, where the groups of cows are the stock of replacement items. At each point of time the decision problem is to find the optimal composition of items from the available population of items. An exact derivation of the optimal replacement policy for such problems is very complicated because the optimal decisions for each period depends on the state of the whole stock, and of all the available replacement components. This leads to a dynamic programming problem with a very large number of state variables which is not feasible to solve numerically due to the great amount of computer time involved.This paper presents a practical method for obtaining an approximate solution for the above described problem. The computational difficulty caused by the tremendously large dimensionality of the state variable is overcome by means of an iterative method which combines simulation and Dynamic Programming approach to compute successive linear approximations of the value function.     

一类非最小相位非线性系统的鲁棒输出调节

研究了一类具有非最小相位和非线性外部系统的非线性系统的全局鲁棒输出调节问题.首先,利用浸入系统设计了一个非线性内模.其次,把原系统的全局鲁棒输出调节问题转化为增广系统的全局鲁棒镇定问题.然后,利用改变能量函数和动态增益技巧设计了一个状态反馈控制器,使得闭环系统的解有界并且跟踪误差渐近趋于零.最后,利用仿真结果验证了所设计的控制器的有效性.     

Reliability assessment for load‐sharing systems with exponential components using statistical expansion as a correction

Among recent system models, one specific type of system is generally used to model the dependence among components. Components are connected parallel in such systems as they fail one by one and are supposed to share the system work load. The model is thus referred to as the load‐sharing system model. Despite the availability of extensive reliability assessment methods for different systems, load‐sharing systems have not received enough attention from the scholars who have studied reliability assessment so far. Load‐sharing systems are generally designed for high levels of reliability. Therefore, tests for such systems can be expensive and time consuming. Limitation on resources always leads to small test sample sizes. This increases the difficulties associated with obtaining an accurate and robust system reliability assessment result. This paper proposes a novel assessment method for a certain type of load‐sharing system with components following exponential lifetime distributions. Based on the parameter estimation of the system reliability model, we introduce the Winterbottom‐Cornish‐Fisher asymptotic expansion method for implementing a correction of normal approximation. We demonstrate the accuracy of our method through a series of examples and simulation studies.     

Reverse-engineering of polynomial dynamical systems

Multivariate polynomial dynamical systems over finite fields have been studied in several contexts, including engineering and mathematical biology. An important problem is to construct models of such systems from a partial specification of dynamic properties, e.g., from a collection of state transition measurements. Here, we consider static models, which are directed graphs that represent the causal relationships between system variables, so-called wiring diagrams. This paper contains an algorithm which computes all possible minimal wiring diagrams for a given set of state transition measurements. The paper also contains several statistical measures for model selection. The algorithm uses primary decomposition of monomial ideals as the principal tool. An application to the reverse-engineering of a gene regulatory network is included. The algorithm and the statistical measures are implemented in Macaulay 2, and are available from the authors.     

非线性系统双模鲁棒预测控制: 不变集切换方法

提出了一种基于不变集切换的非线性系统鲁棒预测控制算法.采用分段蕴含方法将非线性系统动态用一组线性变参数(LPV)系统动态包裹;计算出非线性系统的平衡面,对于每个LPV蕴含模型,针对相应的平衡点构造多面体不变集,得到覆盖非线性系统平衡面的一组相互重叠的不变集;在线根据系统当前状态所处的不变集和LPV区间切换控制律,最终保证闭环系统的稳定性.与传统的非线性预测控制相比,这种方法在构造不变集和确定控制律的计算都是离线进行,而在线只需根据当前状态切换控制律即可,从而避免了求解复杂的非凸非线性规划,在很大程度上降低了在线计算量.     

An optimal replacement policy for a multistate degenerative simple system

In this paper, a degenerative simple system (i.e. a degenerative one-component system with one repairman) with k + 1 states, including k failure states and one working state, is studied. Assume that the system after repair is not “as good as new”, and the degeneration of the system is stochastic. Under these assumptions, we consider a new replacement policy T based on the system age. Our problem is to determine an optimal replacement policy T^∗ such that the average cost rate (i.e. the long-run average cost per unit time) of the system is minimized. The explicit expression of the average cost rate is derived, the corresponding optimal replacement policy can be determined, the explicit expression of the minimum of the average cost rate can be found and under some mild conditions the existence and uniqueness of the optimal policy T^∗ can be proved, too. Further, we can show that the repair model for the multistate system in this paper forms a general monotone process repair model which includes the geometric process repair model as a special case. We can also show that the repair model in the paper is equivalent to a geometric process repair model for a two-state degenerative simple system in the sense that they have the same average cost rate and the same optimal policy. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the theoretical results of this model.     

定期检修可修系统更换模型研究

针对定期检修退化可修系统提出了一种维修更换模型,且假定系统在每个周期中检修时间逐渐递增、检修"修复如旧"和故障维修为"修复非新"时,选择系统的故障次数N为更换策略,利用更新过程和单调的几何过程理论建立数学模型,求出了系统经长期运行单位时间内的期望效益的表达式.最后还对结果进行了讨论,并给出了数值例子验证该方法的有效性.     

Optimum Redundancy with Equipment that Operates and Idles

Despite their widespread exclusion from the literature on reliability and replacement, many items of equipment are subject to failures to idle as well as failures to operate. For such equipment a new optimisation problem arises at the stage of systems design in terms of the optimal use of redundancy to maximise expected systems life. The models hitherto used as the basis for the solution of this optimization problem ignore the dependence that should exist for the solutions upon the operating and idling requirements to which the system is to be exposed. In this paper a simple model for equipment subject to such opposite failure modes is constructed which takes explicit account of the proportion of time the equipment is in use. The implications of this new model for the selection of an optimum redundancy configuration are illustrated for the case where four identical items of equipment are available.     

Modeling and sensitivity analysis methodology for hybrid dynamical system

This paper provides a complete mathematical framework to compute the sensitivities with respect to system parameters for any second order hybrid Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE) and ranked 1 and 3 Differential Algebraic Equation (DAE) system. The hybrid system is characterized by discontinuities in the velocity state variables due to an impulsive forces at the time of event. Such system may also exhibit at the time of event a change in the equation of motions, or in the kinematic constraints.The methodology and the tools developed in this study compute the sensitivities of the states of the model and of the general cost functionals with respect to model parameters for both, unconstrained and constrained, hybrid mechanical systems. The analytical methodology that solves this problem is structured based on jumping conditions for both, the velocity state variables and the sensitivities matrix. The proposed analytical approach is then benchmarked against a known numerical method.Finally, this study emphasizes the penalty formulation for modeling constrained mechanical systems since this formalism has the advantage that it incorporates the kinematic constraints inside the equation of motion, thus easing the numerical integration, works well with redundant constraints, and avoids kinematic bifurcations.     

基于极大极小方法的一类非线性系统的自适应控制

研究一类具有非线性不确定参数的非线性系统的自适应模型参考跟踪问题.假设系统的非线性项关于不确定参数是凸或凹的.去掉了在先前有关研究中要求参考模型矩阵有小于零的实特征值的条件.既考虑了状态反馈控制方式,也考虑了输出反馈控制方式.在采用输出反馈控制时,假设非线性项满足李普希兹条件,但李普希兹常数未知.基于一种极大极小方法,提出了一种自适应控制器的设计方法.控制器是连续的,能保证闭环系统的所有变量有界,并且渐近精确跟踪参考模型.举例说明了本结论的有用性.     

Optimal inspection and replacement policies for multi-state deteriorating systems

In this paper, a phase-type approach is proposed to derive optimal inspection and replacement policies for semi-Markovian deteriorating systems. In this approach, the general sojourn time distributions of a semi-Markovian maintenance model are approximated by acyclic phase-type distributions. Using the approximation, a semi-Markovian maintenance model can be transformed into a Markovian maintenance model such that the analytical tractability of Markov processes can be preserved. Based on the Markovian model, algorithms are provided to derive the optimal state-dependent and state-age-dependent inspection and replacement policies such that the expected long-run cost rate is minimized. Furthermore, procedures are developed to implement the optimal policies on semi-Markovian deteriorating systems. The implementation of the optimal policies are illustrated by numerical examples.     

具有对称循环结构线性大系统的分散镇定特征

研究一类具有对称循环结构的连续和离散线性大系统的分散镇定特征,充分利用对称循环的特点,建立了判断这类系统可分散镇定的充分条件．在连续情形下,通过引进耦合结构模这一概念,揭示了这类系统分散镇定的重要特征,这就是当整个系统的耦合结构模给定之后,系统的分散镇定特性可以完全由各孤立子系统的结构所决定．这表明在这类系统的实际设计中,不管系统内中各子系统之间的耦合结构多么复杂,只要按一定的条件适当设计或修正各孤立子系统的结构参数,就能使所设计的大系统具有分散镇定特征,并提供了相应的分散镇定算法．对离散情形也进行了讨论,结果表明,连续系统与离散系统的分散镇定特征有着很大的差异．     

Reliability analysis of a single warm-standby system subject to repairable and nonrepairable failures

An n-unit system provisioned with a single warm standby is investigated. The individual units are subject to repairable failures, while the entire system is subject to a nonrepairable failure at some finite but random time in the future. System performance measures for systems observed over a time interval of random duration are introduced. Two models to compute these system performance measures, one employing a policy of block replacement, and the other without a block replacement policy, are developed. Distributional assumptions involving distributions of phase type introduce matrix Laplace transformations into the calculations of the performance measures. It is shown that these measures are easily carried out on a laptop computer using Microsoft Excel. A simple economic model is used to illustrate how the performance measures may be used to determine optimal economic design specifications for the warm standby.