Optimal replacement policies with continuously varying observable damage (Q799038)

Cumulative damage is inflicted upon a system which has a known probability of failing depending on the amount of damage to date. There is a replacement cost of the system before failure and an additional penalty for replacement after failure. The authors investigate for various damage processes the optimal level of damage at which replacement should be made. Mathematicians will be pleased to meet confluent hypergeometric functions and Bessel functions of order one third on the way.