Reliability, availability, maintainability, and dependability analysis of Tube-wells Integrated with Underground Pipelines in agricultural fields for irrigation

Abstract

Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Dependability (RAMD) study of Tube-wells Integrated with Underground Pipelines (TIUP) is crucial as they are the backbone of the irrigation system. This study is carried out with an objective to perform RAMD analysis, and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) unified with the development of a novel stochastic model using Markovian approach to estimate the Steady-State Availability (SSA) of the TIUP. A real case study of a conventional TIUP system has been performed to validate theoretical and practical results of the proposed model. The failure and repair rates of all subsystems followed exponential distribution, and their impact on system/subsystem’s availability and other reliability measures has been investigated. All the repairs are perfect and random variables associated with failure and repair rates are statistically independent. The centrifugal pump and power supply units are the most critical components as far as reliability and maintainability aspects. The labor also plays a critical role in the operation of the TIUP system