Reliability Study
In a complex system, involving several different pieces of equipment, each with its operating characteristics, individual items can fail and the time for repair can vary depending on several factors, and the interaction between the equipment affects the system as a whole.
The Reliability Study aims to analyze and simulate these interactions.
RDB - Reliability Block Diagram
RBD - Reliability Block Diagram shows the interdependencies between all elements of a system for it to be successful. The purpose of this diagram is to show in an easy and visual way the series / parallel combinations of the elements that make up the system.
In the case of an engineering process, such as an industrial process, the block diagram is drawn up at the equipment level, with each block representing equipment and its interactions and dependencies with other equipment.
To understand the engineering process to be studied, design and engineering documents must be analyzed (but not limited to):
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Process Flowcharts;
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Equipment Datasheets;
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Technical Specifications;
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Project Specifications;
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Design Criterias;
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Field Surveys.
A good understanding of the process and a faithful representation of the process in the RBD is of essential importance, since the entire Reliability Study will start from the analysis and interpretation of the diagram.
Reliability
The reliability of an equipment is the probability that it will perform its function properly for a certain period of time and under predicted operational conditions. In a complex system, involving several different pieces of equipment, each with its own operating characteristics, individual items can fail and the time for repair can vary depending on several factors, and the interaction between the equipment affects the system as a whole. The Reliability Study aims to analyze and simulate these interactions.
In a well-defined failure modeling, the result of this model will not be the time (t) that the component will fail, but the probability that this item will fail within a certain time.
As stated earlier, reliability is defined in terms of probabilities, probabilistic parameters such as random variables, density functions and probability distribution functions.
From the analyzed and treated data, it is possible to parameterize the density of failure probability f (t) and repair probability g (t) parameters. This parameterization can be performed through computational tools that check the distribution that presents the best fit for the available data, with the minimization of the quadratic error and the P-Value for the Chi-squared and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests.
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