Stochastic modelling and analysis of degradation for highly reliable products

Degradation models have become an important analytic tool for complex systems. During the last two decades, a number of degradation models have been developed to capture the degradation dynamics of a system and aid the subsequent decision‐makings. This paper is aimed at providing a summary of the state of the arts in the field, and discussing some further research issues from both analytical and practical point of view. In this paper, degradation models are classified into three classes, that is, stochastic process models, general path models, and other models beyond these two classes. A review on the three classes is given with emphasis on the class of stochastic process models. A comprehensive comparison between stochastic process models and general path models is given to expound the pros and cons of these two methods. Applications of degradation models in degradation test planning and burn‐in modelling will also be discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.