Maintenance strategies in dynamic environement for repairable systems with minimal repairs dependent on their deterioration level

Abstract : A repairable system operating in a dynamic environment where the failures of the system are due to the competing causes of deterioration and internal failures is described in this paper. The deterioration of the system is modeled using a homogeneous Gamma process. The frequency of arrivals to the system of the internal failures and its type of repair depend on the deterioration level of the system. Two maintenance policies are described in this paper: an age replacement policy with minimal repairs and a “pure” age replacement policy. The value of resorting to minimal repairs as possible corrective maintenance actions under the occurrence of internal failures is investigated comparing numerical examples of the expected cost rate for both maintenance strategies.