Reliability and Availability Analysis of Transport System Composed of Dependent Subsystems

The paper presents reliability and availability analysis of the transport system, taking into account its structure, that is composed of dependent subsystems. The issues introduced are basing on the assumption that one subsystem impacts on functioning of other subsystems, meaning - disruptions occurring within the subsystem can reduce functionality and change level of safety and inoperability of others. By means of multistate approach to analysis, it has been assumed that the deterioration of one subsystem affects the reliability of other subsystems and the entire system. Following this assumption, the transport system reliability function and its basic reliability characteristics were determined. In addition, the system availability function was set out, assuming that its renewal is carried out when its reliability falls below a certain threshold. Furthermore, the reliability and availability analysis of the transport system were conducted, taking into account additional stress on its particular subsystem at certain time points. The summary contains conclusions resulting from the analysis and comparison for various additional stress levels.