Reliability Analysis of TO Chopper Based on Fuzzy Fault Tree

The T0 chopper, as a crucial neutron optical device in time-of-flight neutron spectrometers, significantly influences the normal operation of the neutron spectrometer. Due to its prolonged operation in a special environment characterized by high radiation and low vacuum, it becomes challenging to accurately acquire the failure probabilities of its components. In this scenario, we introduce a reliability analysis approach for the T0 chopper utilizing a fuzzy fault tree, which integrates expert assessments with fuzzy set theory. Firstly, a fault tree for the T0 chopper is constructed, and qualitative analysis is conducted to identify the minimal cut sets. Secondly, we employ a blend of fuzzy set theory and expert linguistic assessments to quantify the occurrence probabilities of basic events, enabling the calculation of the fuzzy failure rate for the top event of the T0 chopper system. Subsequently, importance ranking was performed on the basic events, and the feasibility of this method was validated by combining it with historical operational data. Finally, considering the analysis results, specific risk mitigation measures are proposed for vulnerable aspects, laying the foundation for enhancing the reliability of the T0 chopper system.