ABSTRACT
Dependability deals with the industrial risks and is based on several basic concepts whose definitions and interpretations are increasingly refined. The chapter aims to large-scale system reliability-redundancy allocation problem involving 20 subsystems using genetic algorithms (GAs), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and the cuckoo optimization algorithm (COA). Most often, the researchers use soft computing methods to optimize the system reliability. Bio-inspired soft computing methods are widely used in engineering as they are powerful and allow finding good solutions in a reduced computational time and cost. Three soft computing methods have been implemented, namely the GA, PSO, and the COA. It has been proved that the cuckoo optimization algorithm has increased the overall system reliability and required fewer function evaluations compared to the two other methods. Dependability reflects the confidence that can be attributed to a system. The International Electrotechnical Commission 60050 provides some standard definitions for the elements of dependability.
