SS 08
As systems continue to evolve toward higher complexity, stronger functionality and tighter performance requirements, reliability is increasingly required not only to be evaluated, but also to be designed, understood and validated from first principles. This shift highlights the need for a more fundamental perspective on reliability beyond traditional approaches centered on statistical failure analysis.
Belief reliability, pioneered by Prof. Rui Kang, provides such a perspective. It is developed within a broader effort to establish reliability as a scientific discipline. In this view, reliability is defined as the repeatability of system function across time and space, and is organized through an integrated structure of principles, experiments, and mathematical representation. Within this emerging framework of reliability science, belief reliability represents a systematic development that links these elements in a coherent manner. It interprets reliability in terms of system function, performance margin, degradation and their uncertainties, and provides a structured basis for reliability analysis, design and verification. Rather than focusing solely on uncertainty quantification, it contributes to a more general understanding of how reliability is formed, maintained and assessed in complex systems. In recent years, this line of research has gained increasing attention, with sustained progress in theoretical developments and expanding applications in practice. It offers new ways to address challenges such as complex system behavior, limited testing information, evolving performance and the need for more effective reliability design and validation strategies.
This special session aims to provide a focused forum for presenting recent advances in belief reliability and exploring its implications for modern reliability science and applications. It reflects the growing need for a principle-based understanding of reliability and for closer integration between theoretical developments and practical implementation. The session seeks to bring together researchers and practitioners from both academia and industry, encouraging interactions between foundational research and practice. Contributions are welcomed from topics including, but not limited to:
- fundamental principles and theoretical developments of belief reliability
- function- and performance-oriented reliability modeling and analysis
- reliability-oriented design, validation and testing methodologies
- methods for reliability evaluation under limited information
- computational approaches and tools for belief reliability
- applications in complex systems, including engineering systems such as aerospace, manufacturing, energy and transportation, as well as other systems such as biological systems, social systems, and systems in artistic contexts
- integration with data-driven and intelligent approaches
- industrial practices and case studies
This special session aims to promote deeper understanding of reliability from a principle-based perspective, strengthen the connection between theory and practice, and support the continued development of belief reliability as an important direction in reliability science and applications.
随着系统复杂性不断提高、功能不断增强以及性能要求日益严格，可靠性已不再只是一个用于评估的指标，而是需要从基本原理出发加以设计、理解与验证的系统属性。这一转变表明，有必要超越以统计失效分析为主的传统方法，从更加基础的视角重新认识可靠性问题。
康锐教授提出的确信可靠性理论为此提供了新的思路。该理论立足于将可靠性发展为一门科学学科。在这一视角下，可靠性被定义为系统功能在时空上的可重复性，并通过“原理—实验—数学表征”的一体化结构加以描述。在这一逐步形成的可靠性科学框架中，确信可靠性从系统功能、性能裕量、退化及不确定性等方面对可靠性进行刻画，为可靠性分析、设计与验证提供了系统化的方法。相较于仅关注不确定性量化的传统可靠性理论，确信可靠性更强调从整体上理解功能可靠如何形成、维持与演化。近年来，该研究方向持续受到关注，在理论方法上不断向纵深与横阔推进，同时在工程实践中获得了广泛的应用，为应对复杂系统行为、信息有限、性能动态演化以及可靠性正向设计与验证等问题提供了新的思路。
本专题将搭建一个聚焦确信可靠性的学术交流平台，展示该领域的最新研究进展，并探讨其在现代可靠性科学与工程中的作用与发展趋势。本专题反映了当前对基于原理理解可靠性的迫切需求，以及理论发展与工程实践深度融合的发展方向。会议将汇聚来自学术界与工程界的研究人员与实践者，促进基础研究与实际应用之间的交流与合作。
本专题征稿范围包括但不限于以下方向：
- 确信可靠性的基本原理与理论
- 面向功能与性能的可靠性建模与分析方法
- 可靠性正向设计方法
- 可靠性实验方法
- 小样本或信息不完备条件下的可靠性评估方法
- 确信可靠性的计算方法与工具
- 确信可靠性在复杂系统中的应用，包括航空航天、制造、能源、交通等工程系统，以及生物系统、社会系统及艺术情境中的抽象系统
- 确信可靠性与数据驱动方法和智能方法的融合
- 确信可靠性的工程实践与典型案例研究
本专题旨在从基于原理的视角深化对可靠性的认识，强化理论与实践之间的联系，并推动确信可靠性作为可靠性科学与工程的理论基础和应用框架持续发展。
