Optimal system burn-in for maximizing reliability of non-series systems

The decision of how long performing system burn-in must be answered with a probabilistic model of a system lifetime at which infant mortality failures created during assembly processes are quantified. In this paper, we propose such a model which is modified from previous results. Using the system model, we derived system reliability in terms of component and system burn-in times for the two cases of minimal repair at system failure and of component replacement and connection repair at their failure times. The procedure is illustrated with a bridge system and the optimal system burn-in times are obtained for maximizing system reliability. The result suggests that an assumption of minimal repair at system failure may underestimate the optimal burn-in time in practice.