Determining an Approximate Constant Failure Rate for a System Whose Components Have Constant Failure Rates

摘要

It is often necessary to predict the reliability of a system when only the mean lifetimes of its components are known. Questions arise as to when such procedure is precise, and if it is not precise, what constant values for the system failure rate give reasonable approximations for the actual system failure rate function. These questions are answered in the case that components (a) fail independently and (b) have constant failure rates. (Author)