Reliability and maintenance policy of two-identical-units parallel system based on cascading failure

Compared with the parallel system with independent failure, the factor, cascading failure, could reduce the reliability of the parallel system. This paper analyzes reliability of two-identical-units parallel system with cascading failure, using the theory of the renewal process and Markov process. To counteract the impact of cascading failure, preventive maintenance policy is put forward into this paper. Expected cost model is obtained. Optimal maintenance policy which minimizes the expected cost is analytically derived. At last, a numerical example for the model is presented.