A new sum-of-disjoint-products technique to determine network reliabilities with known minimal paths

In this study, a new algorithm based on some intuitive properties that characterize the structure of minimal paths (MPs), and the relationships between MPs and subpaths are developed to improved sum-of-disjoint products technique (SDP). The proposed algorithm is not only easier to understand and implement, but is also better than the existing best-known SDP based algorithm. The correctness of the proposed algorithm is analyzed and proven. One bench example is illustrated to show how to determine the network reliability with known minimal paths using the proposed SDP.