Simple bounds on availability in a model with unknown life and repair distributions (Q789134)

Consider a one-unit system supported by a repair facility and a single spare. When the operating unit fails the spare (if available) takes over as a new operating unit and the failed unit is sent for repair. The system fails when the currently operating unit fails before the repair of the currently failed unit is completed. It is assumed that a repaired unit is as good as new. Let F and G be, respectively, the distributions of the life and the repair times. Bounds on the system availability are derived under various assumptions on F and G. Most of the bounds are simple functions of the means and variances of F and G. The assumptions on F and G are of the kind: \(F\leq^{st}G\) or that F or G are IFR, NBU and so on.