This work illustrates research conducted over a ten-year timespan and
addresses a fundamental issue in reliability theory. This still appears
to be an empirically disorganized field and the book suggests employing
a deductive base in order to evolve reliability as a science. The study
is in line with the fundamental work by Gnedenko.
Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko (1912 - 1995) was a Soviet mathematician
who made significant contributions in various scientific areas. His name
is especially associated with studies of dependability, for which he is
often recognized as the 'father' of reliability theory. In the last few
decades, this area has expanded in new directions such as safety,
security, risk analysis and other fields, yet the book 'Mathematical
Methods in Reliability Theory' written by Gnedenko with Alexander
Soloviev and Yuri Bélyaev still towers as a pillar of the reliability
sector's configuration and identity.
The present book proceeds in the direction opened by the cultural
project of the Russian authors; in particular it identifies different
trends in the hazard rate functions by means of deductive logic and
demonstrations. Further, it arrives at multiple results by means of the
entropy function, an original mathematical tool in the reliability
domain. As such, it will greatly benefit all specialists in the field
who are interested in unconventional solutions.
