Using discrete simulation modeling to study large-scale system reliability/availability

Discrete simulation modeling is shown to be of value in determining the time-between-failure and time-to-repair distributions at various points in series/parallel and non-series/parallel (cross-linked) systems. Most real world systems, such as power, telephone, gas, water, and electro/mechanical systems, are extremely large and have cross-linked components that are not ‘well-behaved’ statistically, which make them impossible to analyze accurately and efficiently using mathematical reliability/availability analysis.