2. Characteristics of passive components

We know that the methods to be used to assess reliability depend not only on the availability of validated feedback, but also on the nature of the system, structure or component (SSC):

• for active components (pumps, valves, etc.), the assessment is essentially based on statistical feedback;

• for passive components (structures, piping, pressure vessels, etc.), either available experience feedback or structural reliability methods can be used.

Passive components have the following characteristics:

• they have a small number of generally well-identified ageing mechanisms;

• degradation kinetics are slow and progressive;

• ...