Reliability of a two-dimensional demand-based networked system with multistate components

Existing research on multistate system reliability has mainly focused on one-dimensional systems such as parallel systems, linear sliding window systems, and linearly consecutively connected systems. However, two-dimensional networked systems widely exist in real-world applications such as lighting systems, monitoring systems, and computer network systems. This research considers a two-dimensional networked system consisting of multistate components. The system fails if the cumulative performance of any row or any column cannot meet a predetermined demand. A novel reliability evaluation algorithm is proposed for the considered two-dimensional networked system by extending the universal generating function technique. Furthermore, the proposed model and reliability evaluation algorithm are extended to a two-dimensional networked system with phased missions. The proposed models and algorithms are illustrated by a matrix heating system in a thermoforming machine.