The Underlying Driving Forces of Continuous Probability Density and Distribution Functions | ||||
Author | Zhigang Wei
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Co-Author(s) | D. Gary Harlow; Burt Lin; Fulun Yang
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Abstract | Continuous probability density and distribution functions are commonly used in statistics and reliability analyses. There are many different distribution functions coming from a wide variety of families from which an engineer choose. Therefore, the basic understanding of the characteristics of distribution functions is crucial to the selection of a distribution function in engineering designs. In this paper, the underlying driving forces of the commonly used distribution functions are investigated. It is found that all of the widely used distribution functions can be thought of as the result of two competing forces: a short-range repulsive force and a long-range attractive force with proper boundary condition imposed. The possible distribution functions resulted from bimodal and multiple-modal failures are also discussed.
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Keywords | Reliability, Probabilistic density function, Multiple-modal failure, Driving force, Yin and Yang | |||
Article #: 1821 |
July 26-28, 2012 - Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. |