10.3 Decision Diagram−Based Method
The Markov‐based method typically requires exponential time to failure (ttf) distribution for the system components [34]. In this section, combinatorial methods based on sequential binary decision diagrams (SBDDs) are presented for reliability analysis of cold and warm standby systems, which are applicable to any arbitrary ttf distributions. Refer to [ 34 –37] for other decision diagram−based methods for considering effects of imperfect fault coverage or backups in the reliability analysis of standby systems.
10.3.1 Cold Standby System
The SBDD‐based combinatorial method for reliability analysis of cold standby systems involves a three‐step process [19] : system DFT conversion, system SBDD generation, and system SBDD evaluation, which are presented as follows:
- Step 1: System DFT conversion
In this step, CSP gates in the system DFT model are replaced with sequential events. Specifically, each CSP gate, e.g...