Equivalency in joint signatures for binary/multi-state systems of different sizes

Abstract

The joint signatures of binary-state and multi-state (semi-coherent or mixed) systems with i.i.d. (independent and identically distributed) binary-state components are considered in this work. For the comparison of pairs of binary-state systems of different sizes, transformation formulas of their joint signatures are derived by using the concept of equivalent systems and a generalized triangle rule for order statistics. Similarly, for facilitating the comparison of pairs of multi-state systems of different sizes, transformation formulas of their multi-state joint signatures are also derived. Some examples are finally presented to illustrate and to verify the theoretical results established here.