When considering complex repairable systems, what is the difference between the Weibull distribution and the Power Law model?
In order to address the reliability characteristics of complex repairable systems, a process is often used instead of a distribution. The most popular process model is the Power Law model. This model is popular for several reasons. One is that it has a very practical foundation in terms of minimal repair. This is the situation when the repair of a failed system is just enough to get the system operational again. Second, if the time to first failure follows the Weibull distribution, then each succeeding failure is governed by the Power Law model in the case of minimal repair. From this point of view, the Power Law model is an extension of the Weibull distribution. In other words, the Weibull distribution addresses the very first failure and the Power Law model addresses each succeeding failure for a repairable system. Additional information on analyzing repairable systems can be found at http://www.ReliaSoft.com/newsletter/v5i1/repairable.htm.
