Week 1

PE-4211 Reliability Engineering

Prof. Charlton S. Inao Defence Engineering College Bishoftu , Ethiopia

Instructional Objectives
At the end of the session, the students should be able to
Discuss the history of reliability Discuss the need for reliability in Product Design Discuss the introductory concept /basic definition

of Reliability, Maintainability and Availability

Reliability Engineering Defined

Reliability engineering is an engineering field

that deals with the study, evaluation, and lifecycle management of reliability: the ability of a system or component to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time Reliability engineering is a sub-discipline within systems engineering. Reliability is often measured as probability of failure, frequency of failures, or in terms of availability, a probability derived from reliability and maintainability. Maintainability and maintenance a re often important parts of reliability engineering.

History of Reliability Engineering

The history of the reliability discipline goes back

to the early 1930s when probability concepts were applied to electric power generation related problems World War II, Germans applied the basic reliability concepts to improve reliability of their V1 and V2 rockets . In 1947, Aeronautical Radio, Inc. and Cornell University conducted a reliability study of over 100,000 electronic tubes . In 1950, an ad hoc committee on reliability was

 In 1951, Weibull published a statistical function that

subsequently became known as the Weibull distribution . In 1952, exponential distribution received a distinct edge after the publication of a paper, presenting failure data and the results of various goodness-offit tests for competing failure distribution, by Davis In 1954, a National Symposium on Reliability and Quality Control was held for the first time in the United States and in the following year, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) formed an organization called the Reliability and Quality Control Society. In 1962, the Air Force Institute of Technology of the United States Air Force (USAF), Dayton, Ohio,

Reliability in Product Design

There have been many factors responsible for the consideration of reliability in product design including product complexity, insertion of reliability related-clauses in design pecifications, competition, awareness of cost effectiveness, public demand, and the past system failures

 With respect to cost effectiveness, many studies

have indicated that the most effective for profit contribution is the involvement of reliability professionals with product designers. In fact, according to some experts, if it would cost $1 to rectify a design defect prior to the initial drafting release, the cost would increase to $10 after the final release, $100 at the prototype stage, $1000 at the pre-production stage, and $10,000 at the production stage Various studies have revealed that design-related problems are generally the greatest causes for product failures. For example, a study performed by the U.S. Navy concerning electronic equipment failure causes

Well-publicized system failures such as those listed below may have also contributed to more serious consideration of reliability in product design
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster:

This debacle occurred in 1986, in which all crew members lost their lives. The main reason for this disaster was design defects. Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor Explosion: This disaster also occurred in 1986, in the former Soviet Union, in which 31 lives were lost. This debacle was also the result of design defects. Point Pleasant Bridge Disaster: This bridge located on the West Virginia/ Ohio border collapsed in 1967. The disaster resulted in the loss of 46 lives and its basic cause was the metal fatigue of a

RELIABILITY SPECIALIZED AND APPLICATION AREAS

Mechanical reliability

This is concerned with the reliability of mechanical items. Many textbooks and other publications have appeared on this topic. Example:
Critical mechanical component assessment Shaft strength Selection of flexible couplings and transmission brakes

Gear life assessment; screening of belt drives

Assessment of bearing life,load ratings,slider bearings and

shaft sealing devices Bolt loading and lubrication systems

 Software reliability.

This is an important emerging area of reliability as the use of computers is increasing at an alarming rate. Human reliability. In the past, many times systems have failed not due to technical faults but due to human error. The first book on the topic appeared in 1986 Reliability optimization. This is concerned with the reliability optimization of engineering systems Reliability growth. This is basically concerned with monitoring

 Structural reliability.

This is concerned with the reliability of engineering structures, in particular civil engineering Reliability general. This includes developments on reliability of a general nature. Usually, mathematicians and related professionals contribute to the area Power system reliability. This is a well-developed area and is basically concerned with the application of reliability principles to conventional power system related problems. Many books on the subject have appeared over the years including a vast number

 Robot reliability and safety.

This is an emerging new area of the application of basic reliability and safety principles to robot associated problems. Life cycle costing. This is an important subject that is directly related to reliability. In particular, when estimating the ownership cost of the product, the knowledge regarding its failure rate is essential. Maintainability. This is closely coupled to reliability and is concerned with the maintaining aspect of the product.

Reliability, Maintainability and Availability

Reliability. Reliability is defined as the probability that a component can perform its intended function for a specified time interval (t) under stated conditions. Reliability. Reliability is concerned with the probability and frequency of failures (or more correctly, the lack of failures). A commonly used measure of reliability for repairable systems is the mean time between failures (MTBF). Reliability is more accurately expressed as a probability of success over a given duration of time, cycles, etc. For example, the reliability of a power plant might be stated as 95% probability of no failure

Maintainability
Maintainability. Maintainability is defined as

the measure of the ability of an item to be restored or retained in a specified condition.

Maintenance is defined as those activities and

actions that directly retain the proper operation of an item or restore that operation when it is interrupted by failure or some other anomaly. (activities and actions include removal and replacement of failed items, repair of failed items, lubrication, servicing (includes replenishment of consumables such as fuel), and calibration.

Availability
Availability

This is the probability that an item is available for application or use when needed. Maintainability together with reliability determine the availability of a machinery system. Availability is influenced by the time demand made by preventive and corrective maintenance measures. Availability(A) is measured by: A= MTBF/MTBF + MTTR

Terms and Definitions

Terms and Definitions

The End