Evaluating Constant Failure Rates in Storm Surge Barriers: A Statistical Framework Applied to Censored Component Lifetimes of the Oosterscheldekering

This study examines the validity of constant failure rates in the reliability assessment of storm surge barriers, with a focus on the Stormvloedkering Oosterschelde (SVKO). Analysing a dataset of 1,501 malfunctions, including 87 critical incidents over six years, we employ Exponential and Weibull statistical models to assess failure rates. The...

Evaluation of the similarity index: A statistical procedure for comparing Weibull distributions

In this thesis, we evaluate the statistical procedure based on the similarity index proposed by Ypma and Ross in 'Determing the similarity between expected and observed ageing behavior'. The function for the similarity index is defined based on the inner product of two probability density functions, assumed to be related to the Weibull...

Route towards power MOSFET large thin die mechanical robustness: Masters thesis report

Today’s cars are undergoing the greatest transformation the industry has seen. Power MOSFETs play a crucial role in making electronics more energy efficient by driving down switching losses and Rdson using a combination of next-generation trench technology and ultra-thin dies. Power MOSFET dies are becoming larger ( > 5 X 5 mm ) and thinner (...

Remote sensing-based prediction of forest fire characteristics

Forest fires are a major ecosystem disturbance at global scale, put pressure on agencies in charge of citizens and infrastructure security and cause unvaluable human losses. Fires are controlled by multiple static and dynamic drivers related to topography, land cover, climate, weather, and anthropic activity. Among these, weather is an active...

Distribution of individual wave overtopping volumes at rubble mound seawalls

For a safe design of a rubble mound seawall, overtopping characteristics such as the mean overtopping discharge (q) and the maximum individual overtopping volume (V_max) should be limited. Unlike q, the estimation of V_max is more complex and requires a wave-by-wave analysis of overtopping as well as a statistical analysis...

Predictive maintenance of systems subject to hard failure based on proportional hazards model

The remaining useful lifetime (RUL) estimated from the in-situ degradation data has shown to be useful for online predictive maintenance. In the literature, the RUL is often estimated by assuming a soft-failure threshold for the degradation data. In practice, however, systems may not be subject to the degradation-induced soft failures....

Estimation of the incubation time distribution for COVID-19

We consider smooth nonparametric estimation of the incubation time distribution of COVID-19, in connection with the investigation of researchers from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Dutch: RIVM) of 88 travelers from Wuhan: Backer et al. (2020). The advantages of the smooth nonparametric approach with respect to...

Prediction of Strength for Inhomogeneous: Defective Glass Elements Based on the Sequential Partitioning of the Data and Weibull Statistical Distribution

An analytical approach based on the on the sequential partitioning of the data and Weibull Statistical Distribution for inhomogeneous - defective materials is proposed. It allows assessing the guaranteed strength of glass structures for the low probability of fracture with a higher degree of reliability. Parameters of equations for the piecewise...

Optimal siting and sizing of wind farms

In this paper, we propose a novel technique to determine the optimal placement of wind farms, thereby taking into account wind characteristics and electrical grid constraints. We model the long-term variability of wind speed using a Weibull distribution according to wind direction intervals, and formulate the metrics that capture wind speed...

Life-cycle assessment of high-voltage assets using statistical tool

Nowadays, utilities are confronted with assets reaching or even exceeding their designed life. This in turn, implies the occurrence of upcoming replacements to assure reliable network operation. In this thesis, the application of statistical tools for life-time and residual life assessment of high-voltage assets installed in a power network is...

A compound Weibull model for the description of surface wind velocity distributions

Statistical description of wind speed near de surface, basis of tlhe Rijkoort-model for wind prediction.