An Integrated Methodology for Non-Destructive Reliability Assessment of Remanufactured Components

Abstract

Reliability assessment is a quality measure that has been used in industry for a long time. It is used as a quantified indicator to determine the probability of a component performing its function properly for a given period. Assessing the reliability of a remanufactured component becomes a key factor in determining the success of remanufacturing industry. The aim of this research was to provide a data-driven and integrated methodology to evaluate the reliability of a remanufactured component in a non-destructive way. To achieve this research objective, a methodology was presented for an accurate and empirical reliability assessment of remanufactured components. The proposed methodology was constructed using available historical data collected during the initial life cycle of a given component. From these collected data sets, a degradation model of the component was built to represent the inevitable deterioration of the component’s performance. One of the significant modules of the methodology was estimating the outcomes of a proposed remanufacturing process. A mathematical and digital simulation approach provided an integrated method to estimate the outcomes of the proposed remanufacturing process. To develop the robustness of the proposed methodology, a statistical model development scheme was implemented to provide a mean value and predicted interval analysis. This model provided a distribution-based estimation for the component’s failure characteristics. Ultimately, the reliability assessment of remanufactured components can be calculated properly using empirical and actual parameters. This methodology was validated by conducting two case studies with different remanufacturing processes. The conclusion of this study represented a promising approach to predicting the reliability of remanufactured components in a non-destructive way. This methodology could be also capable of incorporating other remanufacturing processes and supporting the decision-making process. Furthermore, it was able to facilitate the technical decisions of conducting a specific process parameter to improve the result of the remanufacturing process. The advantage of remanufactured components was measured by assessing their reliability.