A case study on network reliability analysis for systems with non-independent paths

The problem addressed here is the complexity in reliability modeling for network systems with non-independent paths. Dependency usually is dealt with models with high fidelity and high complexity, which leads to the difficulties in model construction and solution. A pivoting method is proposed here to effectively handle the complexity. The presentation starts from the discussion of independent cases, where combinatorial approach such as reliability block diagram method can be applied. Networks with non-independent paths are then addressed, with the pivoting method applied. This approach is applicable to modeling complex systems beyond the example presented here, i.e., network systems with non-independent paths. Any system with components that cause the dependencies can be analyzed using the approach proposed.