Sustainability evaluation of multi-component subsea transmission system considering failure dependence and maintenance activities

Technical systems operating in the subsea context are often with multiple components under complex failure dependences. Due to the hostile subsea environments, it is challenging to perform efficient maintenance for such systems to ensure their operational reliability while keeping the maintenance activities sustainably. A general approach has not been established yet for assessing impacts of failure dependences, effectiveness of maintenance activities, and sustainability. This paper innovatively develops an integrated framework using the Bayesian networks, which thoroughly examines the coupling effect of component degradation, failure dependence and maintenance management on the sustainability evaluation of the complex systems. The impact of different maintenance strategies and the impact of different failure dependences on the overall sustainability are explored to apply the proposed model. The case study verifies the necessity of considering failure dependence and the feasibility of the proposed sustainability evaluation model, as well as provides solutions for optimizing maintenance strategies from a sustainable perspective. The findings of this study contribute to maintenance optimization of complex subsea systems for higher reliability and reasonable cost, as well as provide valuable insights for decision-makers in seeking for sustainable maintenance practices.