A semi-analytical Monte Carlo simulation method for system's reliability with load sharing and damage accumulation

A novel approach for assessing a systems’ reliability with dependency structures, load sharing, and damage accumulation and reversal is proposed in this paper. It is a blend of analytical reliability analysis performed at the component level, and is based on understanding the failure mechanism of the components, and a Monte Carlo simulation for the entire system to assess the reliability at the system level incorporating the dynamics of the system behavior as the components interact, share loads, and age over time. Model reduction is deployed to reduce the complexity and accelerate the simulation and convergence of the analytical methods such as FORM and SORM performed at the component level. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the usability and performance of the method. q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.