On reliability analysis of a two-dependent-unit series system with a standby unit

In this paper we study a series system with two active components and a single cold standby unit. The two simultaneously working components are assumed to be dependent and this dependence is modeled by a copula function. In particular, we obtain an explicit expression for the mean time to failure of the system in terms of the copula function and marginal lifetime distributions. We also provide illustrative numerical results for different copula functions and marginal lifetime distributions.