Minimum downtime operation and maintenance scheduling for resource-constrained system
研究了资源受限系统（如无人机）在任务期间如何通过优化运行与维护调度来最小化预期停机时间，考虑了不同维护选项的时长、效率和资源补充量。
Traditional reliability models typically assume that a system can operate until it is failed or not needed due to the mission completion. In practice, the system may have limited resource (e.g., battery power, fuel) and thus have certain maximum operation time due to the resource depletion. This paper makes contributions by modeling and optimizing the expected mission downtime (EMD) for a resource-constrained system that requires replenishing the resource according to a pre-specified operation and maintenance schedule (OMS) for accomplishing a mission of certain duration. Different types of maintenance options characterized by different maintenance durations, efficiencies in reducing the system's cumulative exposure time, and resource replenishing amounts are considered. Based on a new numerical method suggested for the EMD evaluation, the optimal OMS problem is formulated and solved minimizing the EMD. A detailed case study on an unmanned aerial vehicle performing a surveillance mission is conducted to investigate the influence of several system parameters on the EMD and optimization solutions, including the maximum amount of resource, system reliability, resource consumption during system activation and operation, resource replenishment speed, as well as maintenance duration, efficiency, and failure probability.