Approximate Expressions for Steady-State Reliability Indexes of Markov Systems

The paper proposes a general procedure for deriving approximate formulas for steady-state reliability indexes of systems that can be modeled by time homogeneous and continuous, discrete state, Markov processes. The procedure is based upon an approximate decomposition of system frequency balance equations into equation sets associated with states of the same probability size. The steps of the procedure are general and can be followed automatically by referring to the system state diagram. Expressions for the error bounds of the method are suggested. An illustrative example is included.