Reliability modeling for dependent competing failure processes with damage self-recovery phenomenon

Systems experiencing multiple dependent competing failure processes (MDCFP) have attracted much attention in the recent years. A system subject to MDCFP with damage self-recovery phenomenon is considered in this paper. Due to the intrinsic resistance to abrupt damage, the damage self-recovery exists in many systems and products. A new reliability model subject to MDCFP by considering the damage self-recovery phenomenon is developed. For each random shock, we propose recovery time and recovery level concept to describe the self-recovery process. The model is practical and realistic for many complex systems such as electrical devices or microelectronic polymeric components. Due to complexity of the model, there is no analytical form of the reliability function. However, we estimate the system reliability efficiently by using simulation method.