Symbolic Reliability Analysis with the Aid of Variable-Entered Karnaugh Maps

Abstract

A method for finding the symbolic reliability of a moderately complex system is presented. The method uses Bayesian decomposition to reduce the system into simpler series-parallel subsystems. The successes or failures of these subsystems are found by inspection and then recast into disjoint sum-of-product forms with the aid of the Karnaugh map. Subsequently, an almost minimal disjoint expression for the system success or failure is obtained with the aid of a variable-entered Karnaugh map (VEKM). This VEKM method is illustrated by applying it to some examples recently solved in the literature. The main advantage of the method is the pictorial insight it provides to the reliability analyst.