This paper considers a technique for calculating the unconditional failure intensity of any given non-coherent fault tree. Conventional Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) techniques involve the evaluation of lengthy series expansions and approximations are unavoidable even for moderate sized fault trees. The Binary Decision Diagram (BDD) technique overcomes some of the shortfalls of conventional FTA tec...

This paper turns the concept of input distributions on its head to exploit inverse input distributions Al though such distributions are not true mathematical inverse functions they capture the intuitive property of members that have high frequencies in the origi nal distribution have low frequencies in the inverse distribution and vice versa These new distributions have uses in testing for reli...

When the failure probability of a system is extremely small or necessary statistical data from the system is scarce, it is very difficult or impossible to evaluate its reliability and safety with conventional fault tree analysis (FTA) techniques. New techniques are needed to predict and diagnose such a system’s failures and evaluate its reliability and safety. In this paper, we first provide a ...

Fault tree analysis for nuclear power plant probabilistic safety assessment is an intricate process. Personal computer-based software systems have therefore been developed to conduct this analysis. However, all existing fault tree analysis software systems only accept quantitative data to characterized basic event reliabilities. In real-world applications, basic event reliabilities may not be r...

The Free Technology Academy (FTA) is a programme of masterlevel courses on Free Software and Open Standards that publishes all of its materials as Open Educational Resources. The FTA is run through a virtual campus, entirely based on Free Software and implemented as part of a European project. The goal is to make the production of course materials economically sustainable. We surmise that peer ...