ESCAF - A new and cheap system for complex reliability analysis and computation

• Published in: IEEE transactions on reliability Vol. R-31; pp. 339 - 349
• Main Authors: LAVIRON, A, MANARANCHE, J C, CARNINO, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-01-1982
• ISSN: 0018-9529
• DOI: 10.1109/TR.1982.5221371

A new apparatus, the electronic simulator to compare and analyze failures (ESCAF), is introduced as a means to analyze the reliability of systems with up to 416 components. ESCAF operates by simulating a system using the electronic gates of ICs mounted on specially configured cards. The component state is input and the failed or nonfailed state of the system is output after a fault-tree analysis. A fault combination generator simulated the failure of all system components or the occurrence of all basic events, employing increasing orders of simulation until the most complex order of events is accounted for. Input of the individual event probabilities, component failure probabilities, or component unavailabilities yields computation of the overall system failure probability or unavailability. A serial transmission link is provided for interconnect with a mini- or microcomputer. Use of the device for spacecraft or nuclear power plant safety analyses is indicated.