For serial systems, simply mulitply the reliability of each system component
Serial system: [1]--[2]--[3]
If the reliability of 1 is .97, the reliability of 2 is .99, and the reliability of 3 is .98,
to calculate the reliability of the entire system, mulitple .97 x .99 x .98 ( = .94)
In serial systems, the system reliability is less than any of the individual components.
[1]
|
Parallel system: ---[2]-------------------
|
[3]
To calculate the reliability of the entire system use the formula: 1-((1-R1) x (1-R2) x (1-R3))
In this case 1-((1-.97) x (1-.99) x (1-.98)) ( = .999994)
In parallel systems, the system reliability is higher than any of the individual components