Repair limit policy of aircraft component based on extended uncertain random renewal reward process

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on an optimizing maintenance policy with repair limit time for a new type of aircraft component, in which the lifetime is assumed to be an uncertain variable due to no historical operation data, and the repair time is a random variable that can be described by the experimental data. Design/methodology/approach To describe this repair limit time policy over an infinite time horizon, an extended uncertain random renewal reward theorem is firstly proposed based on chance theory, involves uncertain random interarrival times and stochastic rewards. Accordingly, the uncertain random programming model, which minimized the expected maintenance cost rate, is formulated to find the optimal repair limit time. Findings A numerical example with sensitivity analysis is provided to illustrate the utility of the proposed policy. It provides a useful reference and guidance for aircraft optimization. For maintainers, it plays an important guiding role in engineering practice. Originality/value The proposed uncertain random renewal reward process proved useful for the optimization of maintenance strategy with maintenance limited time for a new type of aircraft components, which provides scientific support for aircraft maintenance decision-making for civil aviation enterprises.