Mathematical Foundations of Reliability Theory with Applications in Engineering and Applied Statistics

A special issue of Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390). This special issue belongs to the section "E: Applied Mathematics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 727

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia, PGIIE, Morelia 58120, Michoacán, Mexico
Interests: reliability; electromagnetic engineering

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Tecnogógico Nacional de México, Campus Morelia, Morelia 58120, Michoacán, México
Interests: reliability engineering; failure analysis in electrical networks; cascading failures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Reliability theory has become a cornerstone of modern engineering, applied statistics, and risk analysis. The growing complexity of technological systems—ranging from aerospace and energy infrastructure to biomedical devices and information networks—demands mathematical tools that are both rigorous and applicable to real-world decision-making. This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge contributions that deepen the mathematical foundations of reliability while highlighting their impact on engineering practice and applied statistics.

The scope of the Issue spans both theoretical advances and methodological innovations, with emphasis on problems that bridge pure mathematics and practical applications. We invite papers that address fundamental challenges such as renewal and renewal–reward processes, asymptotic methods for distribution functions in reliability, and optimal maintenance policies under short- and long-horizon planning. Contributions that integrate advanced probability, stochastic processes, asymptotic analysis, and computational methods are particularly welcome.

Applications are expected to cover a broad spectrum: maintenance optimization in complex systems, reliability assessment of renewable energy technologies, survival analysis in biomedical contexts, and reliability-inspired statistical models for emerging data-rich environments. By uniting mathematical challenges with engineering and statistical applications, this Special Issue will showcase the interdisciplinary vitality of reliability theory.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Foundations of reliability mathematics:
    • Renewal and renewal–reward theory;
    • Stochastic processes in reliability análisis;
    • Distributional methods: survival, hazard, and cumulative failure models;
    • Asymptotic expansions, Laplace-type methods, and error bounds;
  • Maintenance and optimization policies:
    • Short- and long-horizon maintenance strategies;
    • Cost-per-unit-time and replacement policies;
    • Block and group maintenance for modular systems;
    • Age-dependent and state-dependent policies.
  • Statistical modeling and inference:
    • Parametric and nonparametric methods in reliability data analysis;
    • Goodness-of-fit and model selection for lifetime distributions;
    • Bayesian approaches to reliability and failure prediction;
    • Reliability in the presence of censored and grouped data.
  • Applications in engineering and applied sciences:
    • Reliability of energy systems and renewable technologies;
    • Reliability in electrical and electronic engineering;
    • Survival and reliability models in biostatistics;
    • Reliability under uncertainty, risk analysis, and decision theory.

Prof. Dr. Serguei Maximov
Dr. Francisco Rivas-Dávalos
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • reliability theory
  • renewal processes
  • maintenance policies
  • hazard functions
  • asymptotic analysis
  • applied probability
  • reliability statistics
  • engineering applications
  • survival analysis
  • risk and uncertainty

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

48 pages, 3619 KB  
Article
Comparative Assessment of the Reliability of Non-Recoverable Subsystems of Mining Electronic Equipment Using Various Computational Methods
by Nikita V. Martyushev, Boris V. Malozyomov, Anton Y. Demin, Alexander V. Pogrebnoy, Georgy E. Kurdyumov, Viktor V. Kondratiev and Antonina I. Karlina
Mathematics 2026, 14(4), 723; https://doi.org/10.3390/math14040723 - 19 Feb 2026
Viewed by 421
Abstract
The assessment of reliability in non-repairable subsystems of mining electronic equipment represents a computationally challenging problem, particularly for complex and highly connected structures. This study presents a systematic comparative analysis of several deterministic approaches for reliability estimation, focusing on their computational efficiency, accuracy, [...] Read more.
The assessment of reliability in non-repairable subsystems of mining electronic equipment represents a computationally challenging problem, particularly for complex and highly connected structures. This study presents a systematic comparative analysis of several deterministic approaches for reliability estimation, focusing on their computational efficiency, accuracy, and applicability. The investigated methods include classical boundary techniques (minimal paths and cuts), analytical decomposition based on the Bayes theorem, the logic–probabilistic method (LPM) employing triangle–star transformations, and the algorithmic Structure Convolution Method (SCM), which is based on matrix reduction of the system’s connectivity graph. The reliability problem is formally represented using graph theory, where each element is modeled as a binary variable with independent failures, which is a standard and practically justified assumption for power electronic subsystems operating without common-cause coupling. Numerical experiments were carried out on canonical benchmark topologies—bridge, tree, grid, and random connected graphs—representing different levels of structural complexity. The results demonstrate that the SCM achieves exact reliability values with up to six orders of magnitude acceleration compared to the LPM for systems containing more than 20 elements, while maintaining polynomial computational complexity. Qualitatively, the compared approaches differ in the nature of the output and practical applicability: boundary methods provide fast interval estimates suitable for preliminary screening, whereas decomposition may exhibit a systematic bias for highly connected (non-series–parallel) topologies. In contrast, the SCM consistently preserves exactness while remaining computationally tractable for medium and large sparse-to-moderately dense graphs, making it preferable for repeated recalculations in design and optimization workflows. The methods were implemented in Python 3.7 using NumPy and NetworkX, ensuring transparency and reproducibility. The findings confirm that the SCM is an efficient, scalable, and mathematically rigorous tool for reliability assessment and structural optimization of large-scale non-repairable systems. The presented methodology provides practical guidelines for selecting appropriate reliability evaluation techniques based on system complexity and computational resource constraints. Full article
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