Handbook of Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety in Engineering Design - Part 7 studies the combination of various methods of designing for reliability, availability, maintainability and safety, as well as the latest techniques in probability and possibility modelling, mathematical algorithmic modelling, evolutionary algorithmic modelling, symbolic logic modelling, artificial intelligence modelling, and object-oriented computer modelling, in a logically structured approach to determining the integrity of engineering design. . | Chapter 3 Reliability and Performance in Engineering Design Abstract This chapter considers in detail the concepts of reliability and performance in engineering design as well as the various criteria essential to designing for reliability. Reliability in engineering design may be considered from the points of view of whether a design has inherently obtained certain attributes of functionality brought about by the properties of the components of the design or whether the design has been configured at systems level to meet certain operational constraints based on specific design criteria. Designing for reliability includes all aspects of the ability of a system to perform. Designing for reliability becomes essential to ensure that engineering systems are capable of functioning at the required and specified levels of performance and to ensure that less costs are expended to achieve these levels of performance. Several techniques for determining reliability are categorised under three distinct definitions namely reliability prediction reliability assessment and reliability evaluation according to their applicability in determining the integrity of engineering design at the conceptual preliminary or schematic and detail design stages respectfully. Techniques for reliability prediction are more appropriate during conceptual design techniques for reliability assessment are more appropriate during preliminary or schematic design and techniques for reliability evaluation are more appropriate during detail design. This chapter considers various techniques in determining reliability in engineering design at the various design stages through the formulation of conceptual and mathematical models of engineering design integrity in designing for reliability and the development of computer methodology whereby the models can be used for engineering design review procedures. Introduction From an understanding of the concept of integrity in engineering design particularly of .
