An approximate analytical method of analysis of a threshold maintenance policy for a multiphase multicomponent model

A multicomponent system is investigated that consists of n identical unreliable components whose nonfailure operating time consists of a number of sequential phases with exponential times. A maintenance policy is studied that proposes the instant replacement of all the components as soon as the number of components that are in some doubtful state (before a failure) amounts to a predefined threshold value. A cost function averaged over a large period is studied. For a fixed n, an analytical approach is considered. If n increases, a new approximate analytical approach is proposed, which is based on results of the type of the averaging principle for recurrent semi-Markovian processes. The conditions of existence and properties of the optimal strategy are studied. An example is considered and possibilities of generalizations are discussed.