Patrick O'Connor, Stevenage, UKSince 1995 Patrick O'Connor has worked as an independent consultant on engineering management, reliability, quality and safety. He received his engineering training at the Royal Air Force Technical College and served for 16 years in the RAF Engineer Branch, including tours on aircraft maintenance and in the Reliability and Maintainability office of the Ministry of Defence (Air). He was appointed Reliability Manager of British Aerospace Dynamics in 1980 and joined British Rail Research as Reliability Manager in 1993. Mr. O'Connor is the author of Practical Reliability Engineering, published by John Wiley (4th. edition 2002). He is also the author of the chapter on reliability and quality engineering in the Academic Press Encyclopaedia of Physical Science and Technology, and until 1999 was the UK editor of the Wiley journal Quality and Reliability Engineering International. He has written many papers and articles on quality and reliability engineering and management, and he lectures at universities and other venues on these subjects. He is editor of the Wiley book series in quality and reliability engineering.

Preface to the First Edition.
 
Preface to the Second Edition.
 
Preface to the Third Edition.
 
Preface to Third Edition Revised.
 
Preface to Fourth Edition.
 
Preface to Fifth Edition.
 
Acknowledgements.
 
Notation and Definitions.
 
1 Introduction to Reliability Engineering.
 
What is Reliability Engineering?
 
Why Teach Reliability Engineering?
 
Why do Engineering Products Fail?
 
Probabilistic Reliability.
 
Repairable and Non-repairable Items.
 
The Pattern of Failures with Time (Non-repairable Items).
 
The Pattern of Failures with Time (Repairable Items).
 
The Development of Reliability Engineering.
 
Courses, Conferences and Literature.
 
Organizations Involved in Reliability Work.
 
Reliability as an Effectiveness Parameter.
 
Reliability Programme Activities.
 
Reliability Economics and Management.
 
2 Reliability Mathematics.
 
Introduction.
 
Variation.
 
Probability Concepts.
 
Rules of Probability.
 
Continuous Variation.
 
Continuous Distribution Functions.
 
Summary of Continuous Statistical Distributions.
 
Variation in Engineering.
 
Conclusions.
 
Discrete variation.
 
Statistical Confidence.
 
Statistical Hypothesis Testing.
 
Non-parametric Inferential Methods.
 
Goodness of Fit.
 
Series of Events (Point Processes).
 
Computer Software for Statistics.
 
Practical Conclusions.
 
3 Life Data Analysis and Probability Plotting.
 
Introduction.
 
Life Data Classification.
 
Ranking of Data.
 
Weibull Distribution.
 
Computerized Data Analysis and Probability Plotting.
 

Confidence Bounds for Life Data Analysis.
 
Choosing the Best Distribution and Assessing the Results.
 
4 Monte Carlo Simulation.
 
Introduction.
 
Monte Carlo Simulation Basics.
 
Additional Statistical Distributions.
 
Sampling a Statistical Distribution.
 
Basic Steps for Performing a Monte Carlo Simulation.
 
Monte Carlo Method Summary.
 
5 Load-strength Interference.
 
Introduction.
 
Distributed Load and Strength.
 
Analysis of Load-strength Interference.
 
Effect of Safety Margin and Loading Roughness on Reliability (Multiple Load Applications).
 
Practical Aspects.
 
6 Reliability Prediction and Modelling.
 
Introduction.
 
Fundamental Limitations of Reliability Prediction.
 
Standards Based Reliability Prediction
 
Other Methods for Reliability Predictions.
 
Practical Aspects.
 
Systems Reliability Models.
 
Availability of Repairable Systems.
 
Modular Design.
 
Block Diagram Analysis.
 
Fault Tree Analysis (FTA).
 
State-space Analysis (Markov Analysis).
 
Petri Nets.
 
Reliability Apportionment.
 
7 Design for Reliability.
 
Introduction.
 
Design for reliability Process.
 
Identify.
 
Design.
 
Analyse.
 
Verify.
 
Validate.
 
Control.
 
Assessing the DfR Capability of an Organization.
 
8 Reliability of Mechanical Components and Systems.
 
Introduction.
 
Mechanical Stress, Strength and Fracture.
 
Fatigue.
 
Creep.
 
Wear.
 
Corrosion.
 
Vibration and Shock.
 
Temperature Effects.
 
Materials.

With emphasis on practical aspects of engineering, this bestseller has gained worldwide recognition through progressive editions as the essential reliability textbook. This fifth edition retains the unique balanced mixture of reliability theory and applications, thoroughly updated with the latest industry best practices.
 
Practical Reliability Engineering fulfils the requirements of the Certified Reliability Engineer curriculum of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). Each chapter is supported by practice questions, and a solutions manual is available to course tutors via the companion website.
 
Enhanced coverage of mathematics of reliability, physics of failure, graphical and software methods of failure data analysis, reliability prediction and modelling, design for reliability and safety as well as management and economics of reliability programmes ensures continued relevance to all quality assurance and reliability courses.
 
Notable additions include:
* New chapters on applications of Monte Carlo simulation methods and reliability demonstration methods.
* Software applications of statistical methods, including probability plotting and a wider use of common software tools.
* More detailed descriptions of reliability prediction methods.
* Comprehensive treatment of accelerated test data analysis and warranty data analysis.
* Revised and expanded end-of-chapter tutorial sections to advance students' practical knowledge.
 
The fifth edition will appeal to a wide range of readers from college students to seasoned engineering professionals involved in the design, development, manufacture and maintenance of reliable engineering products and systems.
 
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