models. Requiring very little mathematical background on the reader’s part, this concise book introduces the models by focusing on their physical meaning and the supporting data; it then goes on to provide a wide scope of possible applications. The book also introduces a new concept of the Gini-type index, which when applied to aging/rejuvenating components (nonrepairable systems) can measure how different a given aging/rejuvenation distribution is compared to the exponential distribution. A similar index is then applied to aging/rejuvenating repairable systems, creating a bridge between the concepts. The chapters discuss models used in reliability, risk analysis, physics of failure, fracture mechanics, biological, pharmaceutical, and medical studies. They comprise an up-to-date, concise, and informative resource on reliability models, which does not require any special mathematical background.

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