Abstract
Evaluating the network reliability is an important topic in the planning, designing, and control of systems. The minimal cut set (MC, an edge set) is one of the major and fundamental tools for evaluating network reliability. A k-out-of-n MC is a special MC in a k-out-of-n network in which some nodes must receive at least k flows from their n input edges, where k is an integer number between 1 and n. In this study, an alternative method is given first to define a MC using a node set (called MCN) in k-out-of-n networks. A very simple algorithm based on some intuitive theorems that characterize the structure of the MCN and the relationship between MC and MCN is developed to solve the k-out-of-n network reliability by finding the k-out-of-n MCs between two special nodes. The proposed algorithm is not only easier to understand and implement, but is also better than the existing algorithm. The correctness of the proposed algorithm will be analyzed and proven. Two examples are illustrated to show how all k-out-of-n MCs are generated and verified in a k-out-of-n network using the proposed algorithm. The reliability of one example is then computing using one example. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.