Network modelling and evaluation of complex systems

The techniques described in Chapter 4 are limited in their application to systems and networks that have a series and parallel type of structure. Many systems either do not have this simple type of structure or have complex operational logic. Additional modelling and evaluation techniques are necessary in order to determine the reliability of such systems. A typical system not having a series/parallel structure is the bridge-type network shown in Figure 5.1, a system that is used frequently to demonstrate techniques for complex systems and one that can occur often in many engineering applications.