Optimal maintenance policies for multi-state deteriorating product based on remanufacturability

This paper proposes optimal maintenance policies for multi-deteriorating product considering its remanufacturability so as to reduce maintenance cost. It is assumed that all the failures can be repaired and the repair time can be considered. A maintenance model is established for diverse health index based on long-run average cost rate. In the model, discrete Markov process is adopted to depict the system deteriorating. Once a failure occurs, the system´s health index can be identified immediately. Then the system´s remanufacturability and continuing using capability through repairs are evaluated to determine the maintenance policy. The optimal maintenance policies can be obtained by a policy-iteration algorithm. Finally, the proposed approach is applied to an automotive engine. The results show that the model can describe the multi-degradation repair process effectively, and can be used to optimize the maintenance policies.