ABSTRACT
This chapter presents various aspects of transportation systems failures and reliability modeling. It covers defects in vehicle parts and classifications of vehicle failures, mechanical failure-associated aviation accidents, rail defects and weld failures and mechanical failure-associated delays in commuter rail service, road and tanker failure modes and failure consequences, ship-related failures and their causes, failures in marine environments and micro-analysis techniques for failure investigation, mathematical models for performing reliability analysis of transportation systems, and problems. The microanalysis techniques for failure investigation presented in the chapter are thermomechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. Also, the chapter contains four mathematical models for performing reliability analysis of transportation systems and four examples along with their solutions.
There are ten problems at the end of the chapter to test the reader’s comprehension in the area. Finally, the sources of most of the material presented in the chapter are given in the reference section. They will be useful to readers if they desire to delve more deeply into a specific topic.
