Abstract:

This paper proposes an Excel based algorithm for evaluating phased mission systems. The algorithm estimates the system reliability for a given target operating period. A hybrid methodology has been implemented for developing the algorithm. This algorithm utilizes the powerful mathematical and statistical capabilities of Excel. In this proposed approach, the phase wise functional Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) of the system under investigation is first transformed into a table in an Excel Spreadsheet. Each cell within the table corresponds to a specific connection in the RBD. Failure distributions of the components are also taken as input through Excel sheet. Excel’s macro feature enables automatic running of phase algebra based calculations. The analysis time of a given system is dependent on its complexity, computer configuration, and the accuracy desired and may vary from a few seconds to a few minutes. The algorithm has been successfully applied on several examples taken from the literature.