Dynamic Bayesian Networks in System Reliability Analysis

: Today industrial systems are characterized by a set of dependencies among the components and the environment of the system. To address these difficulties, this paper presents a method for modelling and analyzing the reliability of a complex system based on Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBN). This method allows to take into account the influence of time or exogenous variables on the failure (degradation) modes of the system. The DBN graphical structure provides an easy way to specify the dependencies and, hence, to provide a compact representation of the model. In addition, the DBN formalism is associated to simulation tools that enable an efficient processing for the models.