Evaluating the lifetime distribution parameters and reliability of products using successive approximation method

Abstract The Weibull distribution is an extensively used statistical model for analyzing the reliability of mechanical and electrical components. Due to the complexity of the nonlinear equations and the scarcity of failure data, the common method may not provide satisfactory results of the reliability. In this case, a new approach for Weibull parameter estimation and reliability analysis, based on successive approximation schemes, is presented. The shape and scale parameters are estimated by maximizing the likelihood functions, and the location parameter is obtained by constructing an approximate correction model between it and the failure data. In order to show the performance of the proposed method, an extensive Monte‐Carlo simulation study is conducted. Simulation results show that the proposed method provides better estimates and efficient confidence intervals for Weibull parameters. In addition, the proposed method works well in presence of small sample sizes. Finally, two real examples are analyzed to illustrate the application of the proposed method.