An optimal repair policy for systems with a limited number of repairs

An optimal repair policy for systems with a limited number of repairs

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com European Journal of Operational Research 187 (2008) 84–97 www.elsevier.com/locate/ejor Stochastics and Sta...

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Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

European Journal of Operational Research 187 (2008) 84–97 www.elsevier.com/locate/ejor

Stochastics and Statistics

An optimal repair policy for systems with a limited number of repairs I.T. Castro

a,*

, E.L. Sanjua´n

b

a

b

Departamento de Matema´ticas, Escuela Polite´cnica, Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida de la Universidad, s/n, 10071 Ca´ceres, Spain Departamento de Matema´ticas, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida de la Universidad, s/n, 10071 Ca´ceres, Spain Received 18 December 2005; accepted 7 March 2007 Available online 24 April 2007

Abstract Traditionally in reliability literature, the repair facilities are always available. This work considers a more general case in which the repair facilities are not always available, but are available only until a fixed number of repairs have been completed. Different assumptions are made to analytically determine an optimal repair policy maximizing the expected reward.  2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Repairable systems; Optimal policy

1. Introduction There is a extensive literature on the design of new strategies for the replacement/repair of repairable systems, mainly because of the practical applicability to modeling problems of complex electronics, communication equipment, etc. Indeed, thousands of replacement policies have been created. Ascher and Feingold [1], Barlow and Proschan [2], Nakagawa [5], and Osaki [6] are landmark works presenting the mathematical theory of maintenance. There have also been many useful reviews of the history of research in this field, including Pham and Wang [7], Valdez-Flores and Feldman [8], and, most recently, Wang [9]. In general, replacement policies depend on the cost that they involve and the required availability and reliability of the systems. Frequently the reliability literature has made the general assumption that, after a failure detection, the system can immediately go to a repair facility and that after a certain waiting time a repairman is immediately available. This assumption, however, does not reflect practical situations when access to the repairman may be restricted (for example, when the failure of the system occurs out of business hours). For that reason, in the present communication we assume that the repairman is not always available. If the system fails and the repair facilities are available the repair begins. On the other hand, if the system fails and the repair facilities *

Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 927257444. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (I.T. Castro), [email protected] (E.L. Sanjua´n).

0377-2217/$ - see front matter  2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2007.03.027

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are not available the repair of the failure is delayed until the repair facilities can be used again. This idea can be implemented in two models that depend on the accessibility of the repair facilities. 1. The first model assumes that the repair facilities are available until T *, 0 6 T * 6 T where ½0; T  represents an entire working period. If the system fails in ½0; T   (0 6 T * 6 T) then it undergoes repair at failure, whereas if it fails in ðT  ; T , then the repair is not made and it is delayed until the beginning of a new working period when a planned replacement is performed [4]. 2. The second model assumes that the repair facilities are available until SK where SK represents the instant when K repairs have been completed by the repairman. If the system fails during ð0; S K  then it undergoes repair at failure, whereas if it fails in ðS K ; T , then the repair is not made and it is delayed until the beginning of a new working period when a planned replacement is carried out. We here analyze the second model. Thus, the repair facilities are available in ð0; S K  and are unavailable in ðS K ; T . Without loss of generality, we assume that the system holds N unrepaired failures, 1 6 N, in ðS K ; T . This means that, after a failure, the system may be used to complete some other task for which repair of the fault that has occurred is not required. However, these unrepaired failures are deleterious to the operating time of the system, i.e., the successive operating times after an unrepaired failure, become progressively shorter. This situation is modeled using a deteriorating process. Let Xn be the random variable that represents the operating time of the system after the nth unrepaired failure. We say that fX n ; n P 0g is a deteriorating process if F i ðtÞ P F j ðtÞ;

8i; j P 0; j > i; t > 0;

ð1Þ

where F i and F j denote the survival functions of Xi and Xj, respectively. If Xi and Xj satisfy (1) we write Xi Pst Xj. In consequence of this damage, if the number of unrepaired failures per working period reaches a certain fixed limit, N, then the system remains failed until the planned replacement at the beginning of the next working period. The case N = 1 corresponds to a catastrophic failure, and in this case, if the system fails after SK, then it remains failed until the next planned replacement time. A practical example of this model can be found in a military logistics problem with a central depot facility and forward locations (or bases). The bases are capable of repairing parts of the military material and the central depot serves all of the bases at the beginning of each working period. An unlimited number of repairs at the bases would require an extraordinary amount of replacement parts and a very high cost. The central depot therefore serves only parts sufficient to carry out at most K repairs per working period at the bases. After K repairs have been carried out, the bases are not capable of repairing the material from that moment to the next working period (when they receive the necessary parts from the central depot). The problem studied in the present communication is concerned with the optimal stocking of the replacement parts at the bases. Notice that, this model corresponds to a combined replacement model. For K = 0, the model corresponds to the situation where the system is always replaced at times kT ðk ¼ 1; 2; . . .Þ but it is not repaired at failures, and hence, it remains in failed state for the time interval from a failure to its detection. This particular case can apply to systems not monitored continuously whose failures can be detected only at times kT ðk ¼ 1; 2; . . .Þ, see [5] for more details. For K = 1, the model is reduced to the classical repair policy (that is, if the system fails it is repaired and when the repair is completed the system starts to operate again) at the beginning of the working period. Costs are associated with the repair and down times and reward is associated with the operating times, and the objective is to determine an optimal number of repairs. Optimal means a value of K maximizing the expected long-run reward. The combined model and the expected reward of the system are specified in detail in Section 2. In Section 3, we search for an optimal replacement policy. Section 4 presents some numerical examples of the model and concludes. 2. Problem definition and formulation The system is considered to be a single unit which suffers repairable failures. It is activated during an interval of time ½0; T  which represents an entire working period. We study the repair strategy by making the following assumptions.

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1. Let X1,i be the operating time of the system after the (i  1)th repair. We assume that X1,i has an exponential distribution with mean 1/k1, "i. Let Xr,i be the repair time of the system after the ith failure. Assume that Xr,i has an exponential distribution with mean 1/l, "i (k1 5 l). We define, n n X X X 1;i þ X r;i ; n P 1; S 0  0: ð2Þ Sn  i¼1

i¼1

Let A0 be the reward rate per unit time of the system when it is operating and Ar be the repair cost rate per unit time. 2. The repair facilities are available until K failures have occurred and have been repaired in a working period, i.e. SK. The system is replaced by a new one at the beginning of each working period. It is assumed that the time for replacement is negligible. 3. Let X i ; i ¼ 1; 2; . . ., be the operating time after the i  1th unrepaired failure. fX i ; i ¼ 1; 2; . . .g forms a sequence of exponential random variables with means E(Xi) = 1/ki, i ¼ 1; 2; . . . that verify k1 < k2 < k3 <    and ki 5 l, "i. If N failures have not been repaired in a working period, 1 6 N, the system remains in a failed state for the time interval from the Nth unrepaired failure to the planned replacement, with Cs being the downtime cost. Under these assumptions, we shall now derive the expected reward in a working period. The following definition helps to simplify the procedure. Definition 1. Given a positive random variable X with distribution F, the expectation of X truncated at T, T > 0, is defined as E½X T ¼

Z

T

F ðuÞ du ¼

Z

0

T

u dF ðuÞ þ T F ðT Þ:

ð3Þ

0

Notation. • • • • • •

Fi (fi) is the distribution function (density function) of Xi, 1 6 i 6 N. Fr (fr) is the distribution function (density function) of Xr. F iþþj ðfiþþj Þ is the distribution function (density function) of X i þ    þ X j , 1 6 i 6 j 6 N. F rþiþþj ðfrþiþþj Þ is the distribution function (density function) of X r þ X i þ    þ X j , 1 6 i 6 j 6 N. F S K þiþþj ðfS K þiþþj Þ is the distribution function (density function) of S K þ X i þ    þ X j , 0 6 i 6 j 6 N. F S K þrþiþþj ðfS K þrþiþþj ) is the distribution function (density function) of S K þ X r þ X i þ    þ X j .

To evaluate the expected reward in a working period, we shall first calculate W1(K), the expected operating time when the repair facilities are available (i.e., before SK). One can deduce that " # K K K Z T X X X W 1 ðKÞ ¼ E X 1i I fS i1 þX 1i 6T g þ ðT  S i1 ÞI fS i1
i¼1

from conditional expectation properties as we show next. For i ¼ 1; . . . ; K Z T Z E½X 1i I fS i1 þX 1i 6T g  ¼ E½X 1i I fS i1 þX 1i 6T g jS i1 ¼ u dF S i1 ðuÞ ¼ u¼0

u¼0

i¼1

T

u¼0

Z

T u

v dF 1 ðvÞ dF S i1 ðuÞ:

v¼0

Also E½ðT  S i1 ÞI fS i1
Z

T

E½ðT  S i1 ÞI fS i1
u¼0 Z T u¼0

ðT  uÞF 1 ðT  uÞ dF S i1 ðuÞ:

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And finally W 1 ðKÞ ¼

K Z X

T

Z

u¼0

i¼1

T u

 K Z X v dF 1 ðvÞ þ ðT  uÞF 1 ðT  uÞ dF S i1 ðuÞ ¼

v¼0

i¼1

T

u¼0

E½X 1 T u dF S i1 ðuÞ:

Analogously, let Wr(K) be the expected repair time when the repair facilities are available. Then " # K K X X W r ðKÞ ¼ E X ri I fS i 6T g þ ðT  S i1  X 1i ÞI fS i1 þX 1i
¼

K X

Z

i¼1 T

u¼0

i¼1

Z

T u

E½X r T uv dF 1 ðvÞ dF S i1 ðuÞ:

ð5Þ

v¼0

Equality (5) follows by a calculation similar to that of (4): Z T Z T Z E½X ri I fX 1i þX ri 6T ug  dF S i1 ðuÞ ¼ E½X ri I fS i 6T g  ¼ 0

0

T u

Z

v¼0

T uv

w dF r ðwÞ dF 1 ðvÞ dF S i1 ðuÞ

w¼0

and E½ðT  S i1  X 1i ÞI fS i1 þX 1i
Z

T

u¼0 Z T

Z

T u

E½ðT  u  vÞI fuþv
v¼0 Z T u

u¼0

ðT  u  vÞF r ðT  u  vÞ dF 1 ðvÞ dF S i1 ðuÞ:

v¼0

Finally, let W2(K) be the expected operating time when the repair facilities are unavailable. Then, in a similar form to the above, W 2 ðKÞ ¼ E½ðX 1 þ X 2 þ    þ X N ÞI fS K þX 1 þþX N 6T g  þ E½ðT  S K ÞI fS K 6T
ð6Þ

u¼0

We now give a derivation of the expression for the expected reward. For any K 2 f0; 1; . . .g, denote by RN(K) the expected reward per working period if the repair facilities are unavailable after SK and the system remains failed until the planned time if it fails N-times in (SK, T]. Using (4)–(6), RN(K) can be expressed as follows:   K Z T K Z T Z T u X X RN ðKÞ ¼ A0 E½X 1 T u dF S i1 ðuÞ  Ar E½X r T uv dF 1 ðvÞ dF S i1 ðuÞ u¼0

i¼1

þ A0

Z

i¼1

u¼0

v¼0

T u¼0

E½X 1 þ X 2 þ    þ X N T u dF S K ðuÞ  C s F S K þ1þ2þþN ðT Þ:

ð7Þ

First, a simple but important lemma is derived. Lemma 1. If X and Y are positive random variables such that Y[exp (k), then fX þY ðxÞ ¼ k½F X ðxÞ  F X þY ðxÞ;

x P 0;

where fX+Y (FX+Y) denotes the density (distribution) function of X + Y and FX denotes the distribution of X. Proof. The result is evident considering that fY ðxÞ ¼ kF Y ðxÞ where fY (FY) denotes the density (distribution) function of Y. h Expression (7) is simplified with the use of the following lemma. Lemma 2. If Xi  exp(ki), for all i 2 f1; . . . ; N g, then E½X 1 þ    þ X N T ¼

N X i¼1

F 1þþi ðT ÞE½X i ;

N 2 f1; 2; . . .g; T > 0:

ð8Þ

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Proof. The result is obtained using induction on N. For N = 1, considering X1  exp (k1), E½X 1 T ¼ F 1 ðT ÞE½X 1 : Assume that (8) is true for N  1. Using Lemma 1, one has that F 1þþN ðxÞ ¼ F 1þþðN 1Þ ðxÞ þ

1 f1þþN ðxÞ; kN

x P 0:

Finally, Z

T

Z

T

1 F 1þþN ðuÞ du ¼ F 1þþðN 1Þ ðuÞ du þ E½X 1 þ    þ X N T ¼ k N 0 0 N 1 N X X F 1þþi ðT Þ F 1þþN ðT Þ F 1þþi ðT Þ þ ¼ : ¼ k k ki i N i¼1 i¼1

Z

T

f1þþN ðuÞ du 0



Using Lemma 2, we rewrite (7) as follows. Proposition 1. For T > 0 and under the assumptions of the model, RN(K) is given by RN ð0Þ ¼

N X A0 F 1þþi ðT Þ  C s F 1þþN ðT Þ; ki i¼1

ð9Þ

and for K 2 f1; 2; . . .g, RN ðKÞ ¼

K K N X A0 X Ar X A0 F S i1 þ1 ðT Þ  F S i ðT Þ þ F S þ1þþi ðT Þ  C s F S K þ1þþN ðT Þ: k1 i¼1 l i¼1 ki K i¼1

ð10Þ

Proof. The proof follows from (7) with the aid of Lemma 2. h From (10), we can obtain important measures of system performance such as the availability of the system " # K N X 1 1 X F S K þ1þ2þþi ðT Þ A¼ F S þ1 ðT Þ þ ; T k1 i¼1 i1 ki i¼1 and the average system up-time " # K N X 1 X F S K þ1þ2þþi ðT Þ W 1 ðKÞ þ W 2 ðKÞ ¼ F S þ1 ðT Þ þ : k1 i¼1 i1 ki i¼1 3. Optimization In this section, we deal with the problem of obtaining the optimal value of K, denoted by Kopt, that maximizes RN(K) given by (9) and (10), in other words, finding a value Kopt such that RN ðK opt Þ ¼ supfRN ðKÞ : K 2 f0; 1; 2; . . .gg; where N is fixed. For K 2 f0; 1; . . .g and N P 1, straightforward calculation yields DRN ðKÞ ¼ RN ðK þ 1Þ  RN ðKÞ P 0 () DK;N ðT Þ P

Ar ; l

ð11Þ

where, for x > 0 and K 2 f0; 1; . . .g, DK;1 ðxÞ ¼

F S þ1 ðxÞ  F S Kþ1 þ1 ðxÞ A0 F S Kþ1 þ1 ðxÞ þ Cs K ; F S Kþ1 ðxÞ k1 F S Kþ1 ðxÞ

ð12Þ

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  A0 F S Kþ1 þ1 ðxÞ A0 F S K þ1þ2 ðxÞ  F S Kþ1 þ1þ2 ðxÞ þ Cs  ; DK;2 ðxÞ ¼ k1 F S Kþ1 ðxÞ k2 F S Kþ1 ðxÞ   A0 F S Kþ1 þ1 ðxÞ A0 F S K þ1þþN ðxÞ  F S Kþ1 þ1þþN ðxÞ DK;N ðxÞ ¼ þ Cs  F S Kþ1 ðxÞ k1 F S Kþ1 ðxÞ kN N 1 X A0 F S þ1þþi ðxÞ  F S þ1þþi ðxÞ K Kþ1 ; N > 2:  F k ðxÞ i S Kþ1 i¼2

89

ð13Þ

ð14Þ

To obtain Kopt, we analyze the monotonicity in K of DK,N. To this end, we shall show a useful result in Lemma 4 that is obtained as a consequence of a result of Barlow and Proschan [3]. Lemma 4 is used to prove results about the sign of the convolution of two functions. Indeed, the key to the present work is to determine the sign of convolutions of the type Z x F ðuÞgðx  uÞ du; 8x P 0; 0

where F(u) is the distribution function of a positive random variable and g(x  u) is a not necessarily positive function. First, we repeat the result of Barlow and Proschan for ease of reference. R1 Lemma 3. Let W(u) be a Lebesgue-Stieltjes measure not necessarily positive and let h(u) P 0. If t dW ðuÞ P 0 for all t and if h is non-decreasing, then Z

1

hðuÞ dW ðuÞ P 0;

8t:

t

The following lemma is very important for later analysis and it is obtained as a consequence of Lemma 3. Lemma 4. Consider the convolution Z

x

F ðuÞgðx  uÞ du;

x P 0;

0

where F(u) is R xa distribution function and g(x  u) is not necessarily positive. If G(x  t) P 0, for 0 6 t 6 x, where Gðx  tÞ ¼ t gðx  uÞ du, then Z x F ðuÞgðx  uÞ P 0; 8x P 0: 0

Proof. Using the notation of Lemma 3, take dW ðuÞ ¼ gðx  uÞ;

0 6 u 6 x:

Then notice that Z t

1

8Rx t < 0; > < R0 gðx  uÞ du ¼ GðxÞ x gðx  uÞ du ¼ gðx  uÞ du ¼ Gðx  tÞ 0 6 t 6 x; t > : 0 t > x:

Therefore, as G(x  t) P 0, for 0 6 t 6 x, from Lemma 3 one has that Z 1 F ðuÞgðx  uÞ P 0; 8t: t

In particular, for t = 0, Z 1 Z x F ðuÞgðx  uÞ du ¼ F ðuÞgðx  uÞ du P 0; 0

0

8x P 0:

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The following results (Lemmas 5 and 6, and Proposition 2) show that the problem of obtaining Kopt (and in consequence the monotonicity of DK,N in K) reduces to the study of the monotonicity in x of the functions given by A0 F S 1 þ1 ðxÞ F 1 ðxÞ  F S 1 þ1 ðxÞ þ Cs ; ð15Þ For N ¼ 1 D0;1 ðxÞ ¼ F S 1 ðxÞ k1 F S 1 ðxÞ   F S 1 ðxÞ A0 F 2 ðxÞ  F S 1 þ2 ðxÞ For N ¼ 2 B1;2 ðxÞ ¼ A0 þ Cs  ; ð16Þ k1 F r ðxÞ F r ðxÞ k2   F S ðxÞ A0 F 2þþN ðxÞ  F S 1 þ2þþN ðxÞ For N > 2 B1;N ðxÞ ¼ A0 1 þ Cs  k1 F r ðxÞ F r ðxÞ kN N 1 X A0 F 2þþi ðxÞ  F S 1 þ2þþi ðxÞ  k1 : ð17Þ F r ðxÞ ki i¼2 This fact is deduced using Lemmas 5 and 6 and Proposition 2. Lemma 5 shows that, fixed N, if the function B1,N(x) is non-decreasing (non-increasing) in x, then D0,N (x) is non-decreasing (non-increasing) in x. The proof of Lemma 5 is given in the appendix. Lemma 5. For x > 0 fixed N P 2, if B1,N(x) given in (16) and (17) is a non-decreasing (non-increasing) function of x, then D0,N(x) given setting K = 0 in (13) and (14) respectively is a non-decreasing (non-increasing) function of x. Lemma 6 shows that, fixed N, if D0,N(x) is non-decreasing (non-increasing) in x then DK,N(x) is non-decreasing (non-increasing) in x for any K 2 f1; 2; . . .g. The proof of this lemma also is given in the appendix. Lemma 6. Given x > 0 and fixed N P 1, if D0,N(x) is non-decreasing (non-increasing) in x, then DK,N(x) is nondecreasing (non-increasing) in x for any K 2 f1; 2; . . .g. The combination of Lemmas 5 and 6 yields the following proposition. Given x, this result assures the monotonicity in K of DK,N(x). Proposition 2. Fixed N P 1, if DK,N(x) given in (12), (13) and (14) respectively is non-decreasing (nonincreasing) in x, then DK,N(x) is non-increasing (non-decreasing) in K for K 2 f0; 1; 2; . . .g. Proof. Consider the differences DDK1;N ðxÞ ¼ DK;N ðxÞ  DK1;N ðxÞ and for DK,N given in (14), these differences are expressed as Z x F S 1 ðuÞF S K ðxÞhðuÞ du; DDK1;N ðxÞF S Kþ1 ðxÞF S K ðxÞ ¼ 0

where hðuÞ ¼

Since

Z

  A0 A0 fS K þ1 ðx  uÞ þ C s  ðfS K1 þ1þþN ðx  uÞ  fS K þ1þþN ðx  uÞÞ k1 kN N 1 X A0  ðfS K1 þ1þþi ðx  uÞ  fS K þ1þþi ðx  uÞÞ  DK1;N ðxÞfS K ðx  uÞ: ki i¼2

x

hðuÞ du ¼ DK1;N ðx  tÞF S K ðx  tÞ  DK1;N ðxÞF S K ðx  tÞ;

t

we have DDK1;N ðxÞ P ð6Þ0 () D0K1;N ðxÞ 6 ðPÞ0; applying Lemma 4. The proof for DK1 and DK,2 is similar and hence omitted.

h

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Fixed N P 2, notice that if B1,N(x) given in (16) and (17) is non-decreasing in x, then from Lemmas 5 and 6 and Proposition 2, the optimum value of K is obtained for   Ar K opt ¼ min DK;N ðT Þ 6 : KP0 l If B1,N(x) is non-decreasing in x and Ar lim DK;N ðT Þ P ; K!1 l then Kopt = 1. Analogously, if B1,N(x) is non-decreasing in x and Ar D0;N ðT Þ 6 ; l then Kopt = 0. Fixed N, we shall now analyze the limit of DK,N(T), given by (13) and (14), when K ! 1. Note that K = 1 corresponds to the classical repair policy modeled by an alternating renewal process with planned replacement at T. Propositions 3 and 4 show that, under some conditions, the limit of DK,N(T) is zero. For the proofs of these propositions, see the appendix. Proposition 3. For any x > 0, lim

K!1

F S Kþ1 þ1 ðxÞ ¼ 0: F S Kþ1 ðxÞ

Proposition 4. For any x > 0 and l P k2, lim

K!1

F S K þ1þ2 ðxÞ ¼ 0: F S K þ1þr ðxÞ

Fixed N P 2, from Propositions 3 and 4 for l 6 k2 it follows lim DK;N ðT Þ ¼ 0

K!1

and therefore if B1,N(x) is non-decreasing in x and l 6 k2 then Kopt < 1. Note that K = 1 corresponds to the classical repair policy. If B1,N(x) is non-increasing in x, then the optimum value of K is obtained for K opt ¼ 0;

if RN ð0Þ > RN ð1Þ;

K opt ¼ 1

if RN ð0Þ < RN ð1Þ:

In consequence, the analysis of the optimal repair policy is reduced to the analysis of the monotonicity of B1,N(x) given in (17). The next section shows an application of this repair policy for N = 1 and N = 2. 3.1. Optimal repair policies for N = 1 and N = 2 For N = 1, from Lemma 6, the problem of obtaining Kopt reduces to the study of the monotonicity in x of the function D0,1(x) given in (15) and the next result follows. Theorem 1. If A0 6 Cs/k1, then an optimal repair policy Kopt for N = 1 is given by K opt ¼ 0

if R1 ð0Þ > R1 ð1Þ;

K opt ¼ 1

if R1 ð0Þ < R1 ð1Þ:

If R1(0) = R1(1) then both K = 0 and K = 1 maximize R1(K) given in (9) and (10) setting N = 1. Proof. Since F S 1 ðxÞF S 1 ðxÞ  F S 1 þ1 ðxÞF r ðxÞ P 0;

8x;

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one has that D0,1(x) is non-increasing in x. Then from Lemma 6 and Proposition 2, DK,1(x) is non-decreasing in K, and the result holds. For N = 2, from Lemmas 5 and 6 and Proposition 2, the problem of obtaining Kopt is reduced to the study of the monotonicity in x of B1, 2(x). Lemma 7 provides conditions for the monotonicity of B12. Lemma 7. If either • Ak20 6 C s 6 Ak10 and k2 6 l + k1 or • Csk2 6 A0 and l + k1 6 k2, then B1,2(x) is non-decreasing in x. Analogously, if A0/k1 6 Cs and l + k1 6 k2 then B1,2(x) is non-increasing in x. Proof. As X1, Xr, and X2 are exponentially distributed, B1,2(x) becomes     F 1 ðxÞ l k2 ðA0  C s k1 Þ A0 F 2 ðxÞ k2 ðk2  l  k1 Þ þ Cs  B1;2 ðxÞ ¼ þ C; F r ðxÞ l  k1 k2  k1 k2 F r ðxÞ ðl  k2 Þðk1  k2 Þ where C is a constant. Notice that F 1 ðxÞ 1 F 2 ðxÞ 1 ; F r ðxÞ l  k1 F r ðxÞ l  k2 are non-decreasing functions of x, and therefore the result holds. h Now that we have Lemma 7, we are ready to determine Kopt explicitly. The result is shown in the following theorems. Theorem 2. If A0 P Csk2 and k2 P l + k1 then an optimal repair policy Kopt for N = 2 is given by   Ar K opt ¼ min DK;2 ðT Þ 6 ; KP0 l where DK,2 is given in (13). The optimal policy Kopt is unique if and only if DK opt ðT Þ < Ar =l. If there exists K* such that Ar DK  ðT Þ ¼ ; l * then both K and K* + 1 maximize R2(K). Theorem 3. If A0 A0 6 Cs 6 k2 k1

and

k2 6 l þ k1 ;

then an optimal repair policy Kopt is given by   Ar K opt ¼ min DK;2 ðT Þ 6 ; KP0 l

ð18Þ

where DK,2(T) is given in (13). The optimal policy Kopt is unique if and only if DK opt ðT Þ < Ar =l. If there exists a K* such that DK  ðT Þ ¼

Ar ; l

then both K* and K* + 1 maximize R2(K). Clearly, if A0 A0 6 Cs 6 k2 k1 then Kopt < 1.

and

k2 6 l;

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Theorem 4. If A0 6 Csk1 and k2 P l + k1, then an optimal repair policy Kopt is given by K opt ¼ 0

if R2 ð0Þ > R2 ð1Þ;

K opt ¼ 1

if R2 ð0Þ < R2 ð1Þ:

If R2(0) = R2(1) then both K = 0 and K = 1 maximize R2(K). 4. Numerical examples In this section, three numerical examples are studied. These examples correspond to particular cases of Theorems 2–4. 4.1. Example 1 In this case, the parameters are k1 = 1/6 failures per unit time (u.t.), k2 = 1/4 failures per u.t., l = 1/2 repairs per u.t., Ar = 280 000 monetary units (m.u.) per u.t., Cs = 1 000 000 m.u., A0 = 200 000 m.u. per u.t., and T = 10 u.t. The values of DK,2(T) and R2(K) are listed in Table 1. For this example, notice that A0 A0 < Cs < ; k2 k1

k2 < l þ k1 ;

and, using Theorem 3, one obtains the value of Kopt as K opt ¼ minfDK;2 ð10Þ 6 560 000g ¼ 3; KP0

which agrees with the results in Table 1. As one observes in Table 1, DK,2(10) is non-increasing in K. 4.2. Example 2 In this case, the parameters are k1 = 1/10, k2 = 1/4, l = 1/20, Ar = 15 000, Cs = 750 000, A0 = 200 000, and T = 10. The values of DK,2(T) and R2(K) are listed in Table 2. For this example, notice that Cs <

A0 ; k2

l þ k1 < k2 ;

and, using Theorem 2, one obtains the value of Kopt as K opt ¼ minfDK;2 ð10Þ 6 300 000g ¼ 2; KP0

which agrees with the results in Table 2. As one observes in Table 2, DK,2(10) is non-increasing in K.

Table 1 The values of the expected reward and DK,2(10) for different values of K DK,2(10) R2(10)

1

0

1

2

3

4

5

750 224 853 841

712 545 990 812

590 223 1.01088 · 106

509 984 1.01127 · 106

453 770 1.01123 · 106

288 789 1.01123 · 106

 

0 9.79 · 105

Table 2 The values of the expected reward and DK,2(10) for different values of K DK,2(10) R2(10)

0

1

2

3

4

5

450 353 1.28623 · 106

399 481 1.3096 · 106

296 144 1.31379 · 106

229 840 1.31376 · 106

185 077 1.31376 · 106

455 465 1.3090 · 106

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Table 3 The values of the expected reward and DK,2(10) for different values of K DK,2(10) R2(10)

0

1

2

3

4

5

539 115 370 508

625 824 381 246

740 351 313 648

851 401 188 686

946 946 78 585

1.02632 · 106 18 705.2

4.3. Example 3 In this case, the parameters are k1 = 1/2, k2 = 2, l = 1, Ar = 550 000, Cs = 106, A0 = 250 000 and T = 10. The values of DK,2(T) and R2(K) are listed in Table 3. For this example, notice that A0 < Csk1 and k2 > l + k1, so that K opt ¼ 1

if R2 ð0Þ < R2 ð1Þ:

Acknowledgement This research was supported by the Ministerio de Educacio´n y Ciencia, Spain, under grant MTM200601973. Appendix Proof of Lemma 5. Fixed N P 3, first assume that B1,N(x) given in (17) is a non-decreasing function of x. Differentiating D0,N(x), we shall express Z x 2 D00;N ðxÞF S 1 ðxÞ ¼ F 1 ðuÞF r ðxÞhðuÞ du; 0

where hðuÞ ¼ fr ðx  uÞB1;N ðxÞ  A0 fS 1 ðx  uÞ  ðC s  A0 =kN Þk1 ðf2þþN ðx  uÞ  fS 1 þ2þþN ðx  uÞÞ þ Also,

Z

N 1 X A0 k1 ðf2þþi ðx  uÞ  fS 1 þ2þþi ðx  uÞÞ: ki i¼2

x

hðuÞ du ¼ F r ðx  tÞB1;N ðxÞ  F r ðx  tÞB1;N ðx  tÞ P 0;

t

applying the monotonicity of B1,N(x). From Lemma 4, D00;N ðxÞ P 0 and thus D0,N(x) is non-decreasing in x and the result holds. If B1,N(x) is non-increasing, the proof is similar and hence omitted. One obtains the result for B1,2(x) given in (16) analogously. h Proof of Lemma 6. For the proof of this lemma, we shall use the inductive method for K. Setting K = 1 in (14),   A0 F S 2 þ1 ðxÞ A0 F S 1 þ1þþN ðxÞ  F S 2 þ1þþN ðxÞ D1;N ðxÞ ¼ þ Cs  F S 2 ðxÞ k1 F S 2 ðxÞ kN N 1 X A0 F S 1 þ1þþi ðxÞ  F S 2 þ1þþi ðxÞ x > 0: ð19Þ  F S 2 ðxÞ ki i¼2 First, if D0,N(x) is non-decreasing in x, we shall prove that B2,N(x) given by   F S 2 ðxÞ A0 F S þ2þþN ðxÞ  F S 2 þ2þþN ðxÞ þ Cs  B2;N ðxÞ ¼ A0 k1 1 F S 1 þr ðxÞ F S 1 þr ðxÞ kN N 1 X A0 F S 1 þ2þþi ðxÞ  F S 2 þ2þþi ðxÞ k1  F S 1 þr ðxÞ ki i¼2

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is non-decreasing in x. Differentiating with respect to x, it follows Z x 2 F S 1 ðxÞF r ðuÞhðuÞ du; B02;N ðxÞF S 1 þr ðxÞ ¼ l 0

where hðuÞ ¼ k1 fS 1 ðx  uÞD0;N ðxÞ  A0 fS 1 þ1 ðx  uÞ þ

N 1 X A0 k1 ðf1þ2þþi ðx  uÞ  fS 1 þ1þ2þþi ðx  uÞÞ ki i¼2

 ðC s  A0 =kN Þk1 ðf1þ2þþN ðx  uÞ  fS 1 þ1þ2þþN ðx  uÞÞ: Also one obtains that Z x hðuÞ ¼ k1 F S 1 ðx  tÞD0;N ðxÞ  k1 F S 1 ðx  tÞD0;N ðx  tÞ P 0; t

by using D0(x) is non-decreasing in x, and, from Lemma 4, B02;N ðxÞ P 0. Second, we show that the monotonicity of B2,N implies the monotonicity of D1,N(x) given in (19). Differentiating D1,N(x) with respect to x, one obtains that Z x 2 D01;N ðxÞF S 2 ðxÞ ¼ F 1 ðuÞF S 1 þr ðxÞhðuÞ; 0

where hðuÞ ¼ fS 1 þr ðx  uÞB2;N ðxÞ  A0 fS 2 ðx  uÞ  k1 ðC s  A0 =kN ÞðfS 1 þ2þþN ðx  uÞ  fS 2 þ2þþN ðx  uÞÞ N 1 X A0 þ k1 ðfS 1 þ2þþi ðx  uÞ  fS 2 þ2þþi ðx  uÞÞ: ki i¼2 Also,

Z

x

hðuÞ du ¼ F S 1 þr ðx  tÞB2;N ðxÞ  F S 1 þr ðx  tÞB2;N ðx  tÞ P 0;

t

applying B2,N(x) is non-decreasing in x, and, from Lemma 4, D01;N ðxÞ P 0. Now, we assume that DK2,N(x) is non-decreasing in x and we show that the function   F S K ðxÞ A0 F S þ2þþN ðxÞ  F S K þ2þþN ðxÞ BK;N ðxÞ ¼ A0 þ Cs  k1 K1 F S K1 þr ðxÞ F S K1 þr ðxÞ kN N 1 X A0 F S K1 þ2þþi ðxÞ  F S K þ2þþi ðxÞ ; x>0  k1 F S K1 þr ðxÞ ki i¼2 is non-decreasing in x. The derivative of BK,N(x) is satisfies Z x 2 0 BK;N ðxÞF S K1 þr ðxÞ ¼ l F S K1 ðxÞF r ðuÞhðuÞ du; 0

where hðuÞ ¼ k1 fS K1 ðx  uÞDK2;N ðxÞ þ

N 1 X A0 k1 ðfS K2 þ1þ2þþi ðx  uÞ  fS K1 þ1þ2þþi ðx  uÞÞ ki i¼2

  A0  Cs  k1 ðfS K2 þ1þ2þþN ðx  uÞ  fS K1 þ1þ2þþN ðx  uÞÞ  A0 fS K1 þ1 ðx  uÞ: kN As before, Z x hðuÞ du ¼ F S K1 ðx  tÞDK2;N ðxÞ  F S K1 ðx  tÞDK2;N ðx  tÞ; t

and, if DK2,N(x) is non-decreasing in x, applying Lemma 4, BK,N(x) is non-decreasing in x.

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Also, the derivative of DK1,N(x) verifies satisfies Z x 2 D0K1;N ðxÞF S K ðxÞ ¼ F 1 ðuÞF S K1 þr ðxÞhðuÞ du; 0

where

 A0 hðuÞ ¼ fS K1 þr ðx  uÞBK;N ðxÞ  A0 fS K ðx  uÞ  C s  k1 ðfS K1 þ2þþN ðx  uÞ  fS K þ2þþN ðx  uÞÞ kN N 1 X A0 þ k1 ðfS K1 þ2þþi ðx  uÞ  fS K þ2þþi ðx  uÞÞ: ki i¼2

Since



Z

x

hðuÞ ¼ F S K1 þr ðx  tÞBK;N ðxÞ  F S K1 þr ðx  tÞBK;N ðx  tÞ P 0;

t

using that BK,N(x) is non-decreasing in x and applying Lemma 4, we obtain that DK,N(x) is non-decreasing in x, and the result holds. For D0,N(x) non-increasing, the proof is similar and hence omitted. The result for DK,1(x) and DK,2(x) is obtained analogously. h Proof of Proposition 3. First, we consider the function F ðKþ1Þ1 ðxÞ ; x > 0; C K ðxÞ ¼ F ðKþ2Þ1 ðxÞ where F ðKþ1Þ1 ðxÞ ðfðKþ1Þ1 ðxÞÞ and F ðKþ2Þ1 ðxÞ ðF ðKþ2Þ1 ðxÞÞ are Erlang distributions (densities) of parameters ðk1 ; K þ 1Þ and ðk1 ; K þ 2Þ, respectively. The derivative of CK(x) is given by   fðKþ1Þ1 ðxÞ k1 x F ðxÞ  F ðxÞ C 0K ðxÞ ¼ ðKþ2Þ1 ðKþ1Þ1 K þ1 ðF ðKþ2Þ1 ðxÞÞ2 k1 x and C 0K ðxÞ 6 0 follows from the fact that F ðKþ2Þ1 ðxÞ  F ðKþ1Þ1 ðxÞ Kþ1 is non-increasing in x. Second, we show that

F S Kþ1 þ1 ðxÞ F ðKþ2Þ1 ðxÞ 6 ; F S Kþ1 ðxÞ F ðKþ1Þ1 ðxÞ

K 2 f0; 1; 2; . . . ; g; 8x > 0:

To prove (20), notice that F ðKþ2Þ1 ðxÞF S Kþ1 ðxÞ  F S Kþ1 þ1 ðxÞF ðKþ1Þ1 ðxÞ ¼

Z

ð20Þ

x

F ðKþ1Þr ðxÞhðuÞ du;

0

where F(K+1)r(x) is an Erlang distribution of parameters ðl; K þ 1Þ and hðuÞ ¼ F ðKþ2Þ1 ðxÞfðKþ1Þ1 ðx  uÞ  fðKþ2Þ1 ðx  uÞF ðKþ1Þ1 ðxÞ: Also

Z

x

hðuÞ du ¼ F ðKþ2Þ1 ðxÞF ðKþ1Þ1 ðx  tÞ  F ðKþ2Þ1 ðx  tÞF ðKþ1Þ1 ðxÞ P 0;

t

using that CK is non-increasing in x. Finally, inequality (20) follows from Lemma 4. Third, for x > 0 lim

K!1

F ðKþ2Þ1 ðxÞ ¼ 0; F ðKþ1Þ1 ðxÞ

using the Stolz rule. Therefore, from (20), the desired result is obtained. Proof of Proposition 4. For K 2 f0; 1; . . .g consider M K ðxÞ ¼

F Krþ2 ðxÞ ; F ðKþ1Þr ðxÞ

x > 0;

h

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where F(K+1)r(x) is an Erlang distribution of parameters ðl; K þ 1Þ and FKr+2(x) represents the convolution Z x f2 ðuÞF Kr ðx  uÞ du; F Krþ2 ðxÞ ¼ 0

where FKr(x) is an Erlang distribution of parameters ðl; KÞ. First, we prove that MK(x) is non-decreasing in x for x > 0 and for all K 2 f0; 1; 2; . . .g. For K = 0, M0(x) is non-decreasing in x for k2 6 l. We show that MK(x) non-decreasing in x implies M Kþ1 ðxÞ non-decreasing in x. It holds Z x 2 ðF ðKþ2Þr ðxÞÞ M 0Kþ1 ðxÞ ¼ l F r ðuÞhðuÞ du; 0

where hðuÞ ¼ F Krþ2 ðxÞfðKþ1Þr ðx  uÞ  fKrþ2 ðx  uÞF ðKþ1Þr ðxÞ: Also,

Z

x

hðuÞ du ¼ F Krþ2 ðxÞF ðKþ1Þr ðx  tÞ  F Krþ2 ðx  tÞF ðKþ1Þr ðxÞ P 0;

t

applying the monotonicity of MK(x). Second, we show that F S K þ1þ2 ðxÞ F Krþ2 ðxÞ 6 ; F S K þ1þr ðxÞ F ðKþ1Þr ðxÞ

ð21Þ

for x > 0 and for all K 2 f0; 1; 2; . . .g. We rewrite the difference Z x F Krþ2 ðxÞF S K þ1þr ðxÞ  F S K þ1þ2 ðxÞF ðKþ1Þr ðxÞ ¼ F ðKþ1Þ1 ðuÞhðuÞ du; 0

where hðuÞ ¼ F Krþ2 ðxÞfðKþ1Þr ðx  uÞ  fKrþ2 ðx  uÞF ðKþ1Þr ðxÞ: Also,

Z

x

hðuÞ du ¼ F Krþ2 ðxÞF ðKþ1Þr ðx  tÞ  F Krþ2 ðx  tÞF ðKþ1Þr ðxÞ P 0;

t

using MK(x) is non-decreasing in x for all K 2 f0; 1; 2; . . .g. Therefore (21) is verified applying Lemma 4. Third, applying the Stolz rule one has that lim

K!1

F Krþ2 ðxÞ ¼ 0; F ðKþ1Þr ðxÞ

and the desired result is obtained.

h

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