Cost-Benefit Analysis of a Standby Retrial System with an Unreliable Server and Switching Failure

Abstract

In many industries and plants, a stable power supply system with acceptable cost/benefit is essential. This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of an unreliable retrial system that includes standby generators and experiences the switchover failures of standby generators. Four different standby retrial configurations are included, and each configuration includes various numbers of primary and standby generators. Upon arrival, a failed generator is repaired immediately if the server is available; otherwise, the failed generator will enter into orbit. The server is subject to breakdown even when the server is idle. The explicit expressions of the mean time-to-failure and steady-state availability for each configuration are derived and compared. We also compare the cost/benefit ratio among four configurations. The developed results can provide managers with decision reference for stable power supply system and cost reduction.