An efficient algorithm for exact computation of system and survival signatures using binary decision diagrams

Sean Reed

Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 2017, vol. 165, issue C, 257-267

Abstract: System and survival signatures are important and popular tools for studying and analysing the reliability of systems. However, it is difficult to compute these signatures for systems with complex reliability structure functions and large numbers of components. This paper presents a new algorithm that is able to compute exact signatures for systems that are far more complex than is feasible using existing approaches. This is based on the use of reduced order binary decision diagrams (ROBDDs), multidimensional arrays and the dynamic programming paradigm. Results comparing the computational efficiency of deriving signatures for some example systems (including complex benchmark systems from the literature) using the new algorithm and a comparison enumerative algorithm are presented and demonstrate a significant reduction in computation time and improvement in scalability with increasing system complexity.

Keywords: System signature; Survival signature; Binary decision diagram; System reliability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095183201630120X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:reensy:v:165:y:2017:i:c:p:257-267

DOI: 10.1016/j.ress.2017.03.036

Access Statistics for this article

Reliability Engineering and System Safety is currently edited by Carlos Guedes Soares

More articles in Reliability Engineering and System Safety from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().