Analysis of reliability and its characteristics of a k-out-of-n network incorporating copula

Purpose The present paper focuses on the evaluation of reliability and its characteristics (Mean time to failure and Sensitivity) of a k-out-of-n network. Design/methodology/approach The minimal cuts of the network have been evaluated for different nodes in this paper, using an algorithm. With the help of these cuts, reliability and its characteristics are obtained using Gumbel–Hougaard family of the copula. Findings The present paper proposes to compute the reliability and its measures of the k-out-of-n network using the minimal cuts and copula methodology. The completely failed nodes of the network have been repaired using Gumbel–Hougaard family of the copula. Originality/value In this paper, the reliability of a k-out-of-n network has been evaluated by first calculating k-out-of-n minimal cuts, and the failed nodes have also been repaired using Gumbel–Hougaard family of the copula, unlike as done in the past.