Applications of Bayesian networks and Petri nets in safety, reliability, and risk assessments: A review

Z -number is an effective model to describe uncertainty in the real world. Under the condition that uncertainty reasoning is an important issue to process information, how to achieve Z -valuation uncertainty reasoning is a problem. As a Z -number involves both fuzzy and probabilistic uncertainty, main difficulty in the problem to be solved is accomplishing both two uncertainties’ reasoning. In this paper, a novel Z -network model and its associated reasoning algorithm are proposed to overcome the difficulty. Structure of the proposed Z -network that contains three basic structures is directed acyclic graph, and this is similarly with Bayesian network (BN). Process of reasoning algorithm involves two parts: first, Bayesian reasoning is applied to establish an optimization model for probabilistic uncertainty reasoning in a Z -number; second, the arithmetic approach of discrete Z -number on if–then rule and maximum entropy approach are proposed for fuzzy uncertainty reasoning. Z -network is essentially an extended model on the basis of BN and properties of a Z -number for Z -valuation uncertainty reasoning. In application, a novel framework of dependence assessment in human reliability analysis is proposed based on Z -network, and a case study demonstrates its effectiveness.

A Novel Z -Network Model Based on Bayesian Network and Z -Number

Bayesian belief networks for human reliability analysis: A review of applications and gaps

The Bayesian network (BN) is a powerful model for probabilistic knowledge representation and inference and is increasingly used in the field of reliability evaluation. This paper presents a bibliographic review of BNs that have been proposed for reliability evaluation in the last decades. Studies are classified from the perspective of the objects of reliability evaluation, i.e., hardware, structures, software, and humans. For each classification, the construction and validation of a BN-based reliability model are emphasized. The general procedural steps for BN-based reliability evaluation, including BN structure modeling, BN parameter modeling, BN inference, and model verification and validation, are investigated. Current gaps and challenges in reliability evaluation with BNs are explored, and a few upcoming research directions that are of interest to reliability researchers are identified.

Junaid Hassan

Papers

Human reliability assessment during offshore emergency conditions

A model to assess dust explosion occurrence probability

Industry specific dust explosion likelihood assessment model with case studies