Reliability, signature, and relative quality functions of systems under time-homogeneous load-sharing models

摘要

For a coherent binary system made of binary components, we consider the assumption that the components' lifetimes are distributed according to a time-homogeneous, load-sharing model. Such models are characterized in terms of the so-called multivariate conditional hazard rate functions. We aim to point out some related properties of the notions of signature, relative quality functions, and reliability functions. On this purpose, we preliminarily collect all the necessary background and review some related literature. This paper concludes with a discussion, also containing some hints for future work.