Assignment # 3

Constant Failure Rate Model

Last date of submission: 8 Feb, 2017

1. A gearbox has two independent failure modes: a constant failure rate of 0.0003 and a
linearly increasing (wearout) failure rate given by   t   t /  5  10 5  . Find the reliability
of the gearbox for 100 hr of operation.

2. A system contains 20 identical and critical components that will be replaced on failure
(renewal process). As a result, a constant failure rate for the system will be observed. If
a design life of 10 yr with a reliability of 0.99 is required, what should the system MTTF
and median time to failure be? If each component has a CFR, what will the component
MTTF and median time to failure be?

3. The time to failure of fluorescent lights in a large office building is exponentially

distributed with a failure rate of 0.03125/hr. How many spare tubes must the building
custodian maintain to have at least a 0.95 probability of replacing all failures on a given
day? Assume continuous 24-hour use of the lights.

4. A 60-watt outdoor lightbulb is advertised as having an average life (i.e., MTTF) of 1000
(operating) hours. However, experience has shown that it will also fail on demand an
average of once every 120 cycles. A particular bulb is turned on once each evening for an
average of 10 hr. If it is desired to have a reliability of 90 percent, what is its design life
in days?