Fault Tree Uncertainty Analysis

Fault tree analysis (FTA) is a widely used methodology in the process industries. FTA is used for the development of failure mechanisms, computation of failure frequencies and the determination of the probability of failure on demand of safety systems. Much of the data used in a FTA study are uncertain. For example, the failure rate of a pump is often not known with great precision. Likewise the failure rates of instrumentation are often known only within some defined limits. The common practice, used by analysts in the quantification of a fault tree, is to use the most likely or best guess as to the needed failure rate data. The use of best guess values as data inputs to the quantification of a fault tree creates uncertainty in the computed results.

This paper presents a general methodology for the determination of the impact of uncertainty on the results of a fault tree study. The general methodology is based on the mathematics of propagation of error and variance contribution analysis. An example is presented to illustrate the application of the fault tree uncertainty analysis methodology to a real world problem.