Abstract
In this paper, the properties on the optimal replacement policies for the general failure model are developed. In the general failure model, two types of system failures may occur : one is Type I failure (minor failure) which can be removed by a minimal repair and the other, Type II failure (catastrophic failure) which can be removed only by complete repair. It is assumed that, when the unit fails, Type I failure occurs with probability 1-p and Type II failure occurs with probability p, $0\leqp\leq1$. Under the model, the system is minimally repaired for each Type I failure, and it is repaired completely at the time of the Type II failure or at its age T, whichever occurs first. We further assume that the repair times are non-negligible. It is assumed that the minimal repair times in a renewal cycle consist of a strictly increasing geometric process. Under this model, we study the properties on the optimal replacement policy minimizing the long-run average cost per unit time.