On a Markov-Modulated Shock and Wear Process

We present transient and asymptotic reliability indices for a single-unit system that is subject to Markov-modulated shocks and wear. The transient results are derived from the (transform) solution of an integro-differential equation describing the joint distribution of the cumulative degradation process and the state of the modulating process. Additionally, we prove the asymptotic normality of a properly centered and time-scaled version of the cumulative degradation at time t. This asymptotic result leads to a simple normal approximation for a properly centered and space-scaled version of the system’s lifetime distribution. Two numerical examples illustrate the quality of the normal approximation. Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.