Mathematical modeling and performance evaluation of A-pan crystallization system in a sugar industry

Abstract

In this paper, an effort has been made to formulate a mathematical model of A-pan crystallization system of a sugar plant using fuzzy reliability approach. The sugar plant comprises eight subsystems. A-pan crystallization system is one of the most important representative among sugar plant systems. The A-pan crystallization system has four subsystems arranged in a series. The configuration of first and second subsystems is 2-out-of-2: G with two cold standby while third and fourth subsystems are in single-unit configuration. A mathematical model has been proposed by considering exponential distribution for failure and repair rates. By considering fuzzy reliability approach and Markov birth–death model differential equations have been derived. These equations are then solved by Runge–Kutta method of fourth order using MATLAB (Ode 45 function) to obtain the fuzzy availability. The results of the proposed model are beneficial for system designers.