Reliability-BasedModel for Incomplete Preventive ReplacementMaintenance of Photovoltaic Power Systems

At present,the operation and maintenance of photovoltaic power generation systems mainly comprise regular maintenance,breakdown maintenance,and condition-based maintenance,which is very likely to lead to over-or under-repair of equipment.Therefore,a preventive maintenance and replacement strategy for PV power generation systems based on reliability as a constraint is proposed.First,a hybrid failure function with a decreasing service age factor and an increasing failure rate factor is introduced to describe the deterioration of PV power generation equipment,and the equipment is replaced when its reliability drops to the replacement threshold in the last cycle.Then,based on the reliability as a constraint,the average maintenance cost and availability of the equipment are considered,and the non-periodic incomplete maintenance model of the PV power generation system is established to obtain the optimal number of repairs,each maintenance cycle and the replacement cycle of the PV power generation system components.Next,the inverter of a PV power plant is used as a research object.The model in this paper is compared and analyzed with the equal cycle maintenance model without considering reliability and the maintenance model without considering the equipment replacement threshold,Through model comparison,when the optimal maintenance strategy is(0.80,4),the average maintenance cost of this paper’s model are decreased by 20.3%and 5.54%and the availability is increased by 0.2395% and 0.0337%,respectively,compared with the equal-cycle maintenance model without considering the reliability constraint and the maintenance model without considering the equipment replacement threshold.Therefore,this maintenance model can ensure the high reliability of PV plant operation while increasing the equipment availability to improve the system economy.

Single-machine scheduling with preventive periodic maintenance and resumable jobs in remanufacturing system

A single-machine scheduling with preventive periodic maintenance activities in a remanufacturing system including resumable and non-resumable jobs is studied.The objective is to find a schedule to minimize the makespan and an LPT-LS algorithm is proposed.Non-resumable jobs are first scheduled in a machine by the longest processing time（LPT） rule,and then resumable jobs are scheduled by the list scheduling（LS） rule.And the worst-case ratios of this algorithm in three different cases in terms of the value of the total processing time of the resumable jobs（denoted as S2） are discussed.When S2 is longer than the spare time of the machine after the non-resumable jobs are assigned by the LPT rule,it is equal to 1.When S2 falls in between the spare time of the machine by the LPT rule and the optimal schedule rule,it is less than 2.When S2 is less than the spare time of the machine by the optimal schedule rule,it is less than 2.Finally,numerical examples are presented for verification.

Optimization of extended warranty cost for multi-component systems with economic dependence based on group maintenance

During extended warranty(EW)period,maintenance events play a key role in controlling the product systems within normal operations.However,the modelling of failure process and maintenance optimization is complicated owing to the complex features of the product system,namely,components of the multi-component system are interdependent with each other in some form.For the purpose of optimizing the EW pricing decision of the multi-component system scientifically and rationally,taking the series multi-component system with economic dependence sold with EW policy as a research object,this paper optimizes the imperfect preventive maintenance(PM)strategy from the standpoint of EW cost.Taking into consideration adjusting the PM moments of the components in the system,a group maintenance model is developed,in which the system is repaired preventively in accordance with a specified PM base interval.In order to compare with the system EW cost before group maintenance,the system EW cost model before group maintenance is developed.Numerical example demonstrates that offering group maintenance programs can reduce EW cost of the system to a great extent,thereby reducing the EW price,which proves to be a win-win strategy to manufacturers and users.

Joint Optimization of Imperfect Preventive Maintenance and Production Scheduling for Single Machine Based on Game Theory Method

In this study,an optimization model of a single machine system integrating imperfect preventive maintenance planning and production scheduling based on game theory is proposed.The costs of the production department and the maintenance department are minimized,respectively.Two kinds of three-stage dynamic game models and a backward induction method are proposed to determine the preventive maintenance(PM)threshold.A lemma is presented to obtain the exact solution.A comprehensive numerical study is provided to illustrate the proposed maintenance model.The effectiveness is also validated by comparison with other two existed optimization models.

A preventive opportunistic maintenance method for railway traction power supply system based on equipment reliability

Conventional maintenance mode for the traction power supply system(TPSS)is to perform scheduled regular maintenance activities for power supply equipment,while such maintenance mode may result in undue maintenance tasks and low efficiency due to different degradation processes of different sorts of equipment.To address this problem,this paper introduces a preventive opportunistic maintenance(POM)method for TPSS based on equipment reliability.Firstly,a POM model is established by considering the equipment reliability degradation process based on Weibull distribution.Then,by considering the total power outage time in the planned operation cycle of TPSS as the optimization objective,the optimal maintenance scheme of TPSS is formulated by iterative method of maintenance strategies.The proposed method is verified by introducing practical maintenance strategies and fault record data of the traction transformer,circuit breaker and disconnector in an actual TPSS of a railway administration.Results show that the presented method can make full use of the existing fault data to develop a POM scheme for TPSS.It can improve maintenance efficiency and reduce power outage time,providing guidance to formulate scientific maintenance strategies for TPSS.

Design and pricing of maintenance service contract based on Nash non-cooperative game approach

Nowadays manufacturers are facing fierce challenge.Apart from the products,providing customers with multiple maintenance options in the service contract becomes more popular,since it can help to improve customer satisfaction,and ultimately promote sales and maximize profit for the manufacturer.By considering the combinations of corrective maintenance and preventive maintenance,totally three types of maintenance service contracts are designed.Moreover,attractive incentive and penalty mechanisms are adopted in the contracts.On this basis,Nash non-cooperative game is applied to analyze the revenue for both the manufacturer and customers,and so as to optimize the pricing mechanism of maintenance service contract and achieve a win-win situation.Numerical experiments are conducted.The results show that by taking into account the incentive and penalty mechanisms,the revenue can be improved for both the customers and manufacturer.Moreover,with the increase of repair rate and improvement factor in the preventive maintenance,the revenue will increase gradually for both the parties.

Wind Turbine Optimal Preventive Maintenance Scheduling Using Fibonacci Search and Genetic Algorithm

Maintenance scheduling is essential and crucial for wind turbines (WTs) to avoid breakdowns andreduce maintenance costs. Many maintenance models have been developed for WTs’ maintenance planning, suchas corrective, preventive, and predictive maintenance. Due to communities’ dependence on WTs for electricityneeds, preventive maintenance is the most widely used method for maintenance scheduling. The downside tousing this approach is that preventive maintenance (PM) is often done in fixed intervals, which is inefficient. In thispaper, a more detailed maintenance plan for a 2 MW WT has been developed. The paper’s focus is to minimize aWT’s maintenance cost based on a WT’s reliability model. This study uses a two-layer optimization framework:Fibonacci and genetic algorithm. The first layer in the optimization method (Fibonacci) finds the optimal numberof PM required for the system. In the second layer, the optimal times for preventative maintenance and optimalcomponents to maintain have been determined to minimize maintenance costs. The Monte Carlo simulationestimates WT component failure times using their lifetime distributions from the reliability model. The estimatedfailure times are then used to determine the overall corrective and PM costs during the system’s lifetime. Finally,an optimal PM schedule is proposed for a 2 MW WT using the presented method. The method used in this papercan be expanded to a wind farm or similar engineering systems.

The Optimization of Preventive Maintenance Scheduling for Production Machine of Production System in Finite Time Horizon

The recursion relation of preventive maintenance (PM) cycle is built up concerning the concept of effective age and age setback factor proposed in this paper, which illustrates the dynamic relationship between failure rate and preventive maintenance activity. And the nonlinear optimal PM policy model satisfying the reliability constraints in finite time horizon following Weibull distribution is proposed. The model built in this paper avoids the shortcoming of steady analytical PM model in infinite time horizon and can be used to aid scheduling the maintenance plan and providing decision supporting for job shop scheduling.

Impact of Safety-Maintenance Practices on the Overall Performance of an Industry

The study aims to evaluate how safety-maintenance practices affect the mechanical engineering industry’s overall performance in Ghana. The study used a descriptive survey design technique to ascertain the type of maintenance engineering that was practiced in Ghanaian mechanical engineering workshops at the time of the study. In the mechanical engineering workshops, respondents provided both qualitative and quantitative data using a variety of data collecting instruments, with the quantitative approach being more common. The study employed Kumasi, Tamale, and Accra’s mechanical engineering workshops as a case study. The number of mechanical engineering workshop enterprises that made up the sample size for the questionnaire administration was sixty (60), chosen at random from the AGI membership registry. Primary data was gathered using interview guides and questionnaires. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics were employed. According to the study’s findings, mechanical engineering companies combined different maintenance techniques in order to best fit their organisational culture and equipment. Preventive shut-down, with a mean score of 4.78 and RII = 0.98, placing first (1st) in the Likert rating order, is the most frequently used maintenance system by respondents. The maintenance procedures employed by mechanical engineering organisations were influenced not only by their equipment and organisational culture but also by other factors such as cost, personnel expertise and external partnerships.

Benefits of Dielectric Oil Regeneration Systems in Power Transmission Networks: A Case Study

The criticality of transformers and reactors in the power transmission network and the paramount importance of ensuring their reliability through maintenance of the insulating oil is known. This paper presents a comprehensive examination of the efficacy and economic viability of a dielectric oil regeneration system, as implemented by the Transmission System Maintenance Department (TSMD) of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO), Greece’s sole transmission operator. Through a detailed chemical analysis and performance evaluation, we assess the impact of the regeneration system on treated insulating oil quality over multiple cycles. The study reveals that the electrical properties of the insulating oil are fully restored after regeneration, negating the need to fully replace it, while the investment becomes cost-neutral within weeks from the commissioning of the regeneration system. This economic analysis, coupled with the system’s environmental benefits of reducing waste oil generation, positions the dielectric oil regeneration system as a compelling solution for the maintenance of power transmission assets.

Optimal quasi-periodic maintenance policies for two-unit series system

To investigate the effects of various random factors on the preventive maintenance （PM） decision-making of one type of two-unit series system, an optimal quasi-periodic PM policy is introduced. Assume that PM is perfect for unit 1 and only mechanical service for unit 2 in the model. PM activity is randomly performed according to a dynamic PM plan distributed in each implementation period. A replacement is determined based on the competing results of unplanned and planned replacements. The unplanned replacement is trigged by a catastrophic failure of unit 2, and the planned replacement is executed when the PM number reaches the threshold N. Through modeling and analysis, a solution algorithm for an optimal implementation period and the PM number is given, and optimal process and parametric sensitivity are provided by a numerical example. Results show that the implementation period should be decreased as soon as possible under the condition of meeting the needs of practice, which can increase mean operating time and decrease the long-run cost rate.

On Problems of Multicomponent System Maintenance Modelling

We present an overview of some recent developments in the area of mathematical modeling of maintenance decisions for multi-unit systems. The emphasis is on three main groups of multicomponent maintenance optimization models： the block replacement models, group maintenance models, and opportunistic maintenance models. Moreover, an example of a two-unit system maintenance process is provided in order to compare various maintenance policies.

Maintenance decision-making method for manufacturing system based on cost and arithmetic reduction of intensity model

A cost-based selective maintenance decision-making method was presented.The purpose of this method was to find an optimal choice of maintenance actions to be performed on a selected group of machines for manufacturing systems.The arithmetic reduction of intensity model was introduced to describe the influence on machine failure intensity by different maintenance actions (preventive maintenance,minimal repair and overhaul).In the meantime,a resolution algorithm combining the greedy heuristic rules with genetic algorithm was provided.Finally,a case study of the maintenance decision-making problem of automobile workshop was given.Furthermore,the case study demonstrates the practicability of this method.

Application of cluster analysis to preventive maintenance scheme design of pavement

To quantitatively identify the maintenance demand for each highway segments in the pavement maintenance scheme design,a mathematical model of uniform segment division was established and an approach of applying cluster analysis theory to the uniform segment division and evaluation of pavement maintenance demand was proposed.The actual maintenance project of a highway carried out in Guangdong province was cited as an example to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.It is proved that the cluster analysis can eliminate human factors in classification without being constrained by the quantities of samples,considering multiple pavement distress indexes and the continuity of samples.Thus it is evident that cluster analysis is an efficient analytical tool in uniform segment division and evaluation of maintenance demand.

Product Modular Design Incorporating Preventive Maintenance Issues

Traditional modular design methods lead to product maintenance problems, because the module form of a system is created according to either the function requirements or the manufacturing considerations. For solving these problems, a new modular design method is proposed with the considerations of not only the traditional function related attributes, but also the maintenance related ones. First, modularity parameters and modularity scenarios for product modularity are defined. Then the reliability and economic assessment models of product modularity strategies are formulated with the introduction of the effective working age of modules. A mathematical model used to evaluate the difference among the modules of the product so that the optimal module of the product can be established. After that, a multi-objective optimization problem based on metrics for preventive maintenance interval different degrees and preventive maintenance economics is formulated for modular optimization. Multi-objective GA is utilized to rapidly approximate the Pareto set of optimal modularity strategy trade-offs between preventive maintenance cost and preventive maintenance interval difference degree. Finally, a coordinate CNC boring machine is adopted to depict the process of product modularity. In addition, two factorial design experiments based on the modularity parameters are constructed and analyzed. These experiments investigate the impacts of these parameters on the optimal modularity strategies and the structure of module. The research proposes a new modular design method, which may help to improve the maintainability of product in modular design.

A dynamic condition-based maintenance optimization model for mission-oriented system based on inverse Gaussian degradation process

An effective maintenance policy optimization model can reduce maintenance cost and system operation risk. For mission-oriented systems, the degradation process changes dynamically and is monotonous and irreversible. Meanwhile, the risk of early failure is high. Therefore, this paper proposes a dynamic condition-based maintenance(CBM) optimization model for mission-oriented system based on inverse Gaussian(IG) degradation process. Firstly, the IG process with random drift coefficient is used to describe the degradation process and the relevant probability distributions are obtained. Secondly, the dynamic preventive maintenance threshold(DPMT) function is used to control the early failure risk of the mission-oriented system, and the influence of imperfect preventive maintenance(PM)on the degradation amount and degradation rate is analysed comprehensively. Thirdly, according to the mission availability requirement, the probability formulas of different types of renewal policies are obtained, and the CBM optimization model is constructed. Finally, a numerical example is presented to verify the proposed model. The comparison with the fixed PM threshold model and the sensitivity analysis show the effectiveness and application value of the optimization model.

Imperfect preventive maintenance for numerical control machine tools with log-linear virtual age process

Based on the log-linear virtual age process, an imperfect preventive maintenance policy for numerical control(NC)machine tools with random maintenance quality is proposed. The proposed model is a combination of the Kijima type virtual age model and the failure intensity adjustment model. Maintenance intervals of the proposed hybrid model are derived when the failure intensity increase factor and the restoration factor are both random variables with uniform distribution. The optimal maintenance policy in infinite time horizon is presented. A numerical example is given when the failures of NC machine tools are described by the log-linear process. Finally, a discussion is presented to show how the optimal results depend on the different cost parameters.

Warranty Cost Model Based on Optimal Preventive Maintenance Operations for Repairable Products

Most warranty cost models based on preventive maintenance operations are assumed that products improve at each preventive maintenance （PM） operation and the failure rate is reduced to the failure rate of new products or to some specified level. To make warranty cost models more suitable to real operations, a modeling method of the PM warranty cost was proposed with the situation where each PM operation slowed the rate of product degradation. A warranty cost model was built on PM operations. On the basis of the cost model, both without and with reliability limit PM warranty policy, algorithms were presented to derive the optimal PM number and the optimal PM interval with an objective of minimizing expected total warranty cost over a t＇mite warranty period. Finally, to demonstrate the feasibility of the presented modeling method, Weibuil distribution cases were tested by numerical simulations. The simulation results indicate that the proposed modeling method is feasible and valid for resolving the optimal solution of the product warranty cost.

Optimization Research on Two-Dimensional Preventive Maintenance Intervals

For the failures of two-dimensional product affected by the calendar time and usage time,traditional one-dimensional preventive maintenance can't meet the actual demand. Therefore,the concept of two-dimensional preventive maintenance innovatively is proposed,in order to make decision for two-dimensional product through calendar time and usage time. Firstly, failure rate function expression of two-dimensional product is established and the process of two-dimensional preventive maintenance is analyzed in detail.Then a model of two-dimensional preventive maintenance to minimize the consumer's cost per unit of time is proposed. And examples are given to analyze the model's applicability and validity.Furthermore,the optimal two-dimensional preventive maintenance interval is derived. Finally,a brief discussion on future research area about two-dimensional maintenance is given.

Preventive condition-based maintenance model of EMU components based on stochastic differential equation

To improve the operation and maintenance management level of large repairable components,such as electrical equipment,large nuclear power facilities,and high-speed electric multiple unit(EMU),and increase economic benefits,preventive maintenance has been widely used in industrial enterprises in recent years.Focusing on the problems of high maintenance costs and considerable failure hazards of EMU components in operation,we establish a state preventive maintenance model based on a stochastic differential equation.Firstly,a state degradation model of the repairable components is established in consideration of the degradation of the components and external random interference.Secondly,based on topology and martingale theory,the state degradation model is analyzed,and its simplex,stopping time,and martingale properties are proven.Finally,the monitoring data of the EMU components are taken as an example,analyzed and simulated to verify the effectiveness of the model.