Development and application of degradation modeling to define maintenance practices

This report presents the development and application of component degradation modeling to analyze degradation effects on reliability and to identify aspects of maintenance practices that mitigate degradation and aging effects. Using continuous time Markov approaches, a component degradation model is discussed that includes information about degradation and maintenance. The component model commonly used in probabilistic risk assessments is a simple case of this general model. The parameters used in the general model have engineering interpretations and can be estimated using data and engineering experience. The generation of equations for specific models, the solution of these equations, and a methodology for estimating the needed parameters are all discussed. Applications in this report show how these models can be used to quantitatively assess the benefits that are expected from maintaining a component, the effects of different maintenance efficiencies, the merits of different maintenance policies, and the interaction of surveillance test intervals with maintenance practices