The optimal allocation of active redundancies to k-out-of-n systems with respect to hazard rate ordering

Abstract

This paper deals with the allocation of active redundancies to a k-out-of-n system with independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) components in the sense of the hazard rate order. It is shown that the system's hazard rate may be decreased by balancing the allocation of active redundancies. This generalizes the main result of Singh and Singh (1997) and improves the corresponding one of Hu and Wang (2009) as well. As an application, we build the reversed hazard rate order on order statistics from sample having proportional hazard rates, which strengthens the usual stochastic order in Theorem 2.1 of Pledger and Proschan (1971) to the reversed hazard order in the situation that all components are of (rational) proportional hazard rates. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.