10.6 Overview of Optimization Problems
While this chapter focuses on the reliability modeling and analysis of standby sparing systems, numerous research efforts have been made to optimize their performance [47]. A traditional optimization problem solved for standby sparing systems is the redundancy allocation problem (RAP). It determines the number of spares or redundancies to be allocated in a subsystem or system with the purpose of maximizing the entire system reliability while satisfying a certain cost constraint, or minimizing the system cost subject to a certain system reliability constraint [ 22 48–56].
Recent works revealed that the component activation sequence in a standby sparing system with heterogeneous types of components can heavily affect the system performance metrics [20]. Therefore, a new type of optimization problems called optimal standby element sequencing problem (SESP) has been formulated and solved for different types of standby sparing systems, including...