ABSTRACT
In the present paper we consider a system consisting of n components. The system is exposed to a certain load of supplying a certain amount of utility, e.g., electrical power. The load on the system is distributed among the components. For simplicity we assume that the system demand is constant over time. When functioning each component is capable of handling a certain amount of load which we refer to as the component’s load capacity. The load capacity of a component is assumed to be constant throughout its lifetime. The main objective of the present paper is developing methods for optimal load sharing among the components subject to the constraints imposed by the load capacities and demand on the system. A load sharing strategy is optimal if it maximizes the expected lifetime of the system. In the paper we show how to solve the problem in the case where the components have constant failure rates. We also consider the case where the components have increasing failure rate, and show how to solve this in some special cases.
