Importnace Analysis to Describe Reliablity of Systems

摘要

The complexity of modern systems on the one hand and the rising threat of (intentional) EMI on the other hand increase the necessity of systematical reliability assessment for electronic devices. For that purpose, methods known from probabilistic risk analysis offer convenient and proven approaches. Complex systems are composed of modules and subsystem which can lead to a failure, breakdown or even damage of the entire system when it is exposed to EMI. Generally, not every module or subsystem reacts equally to EMI. Moreover, consequences for the entire system caused by a failure of different subsystems may differ. Consequently, it is essential to determine those subsystems which contribute most to the failure probability of the entire system. An appropriate instrument to determine this contribution is the importance analysis which is presented in this paper. With the help of importance analysis best candidates for improvement efforts can be identified. Furthermore, the classical importance analysis is extended in order to include also the physical quantities such as pulse amplitude or shielding.