Systems reliability analysis of mechanical and hydraulic drive systems

This article presents a new method for systems reliability analysis of mechanical and hydraulic systems. The method is based on finite element equations, which describe motion and equilibrium between internal and external loads for structures and mechanisms. This approach is different from the well-known application of the finite element method in structural reliability analysis [5]. A detailed description shows how the finite element equations can be adapted to analyse mechanical and hydraulic systems. Quite common is the finite element description of structures of solid materials. The theory has been extended to describe the simple flow of fluids. Due to the similarity in the approach, it is possible to describe systems containing solid and fluidic components with a single set of equations. This article also covers physically nonlinear behaviour of complex components, which asks for a special treatment. Therefore, two strategies to solve the systems of equations are discussed. It is shown how the theory can be implemented in software to be used by design engineers. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.