Siphon flow can only start or stop when all the components work in a certain sequence. If any component of the siphon system fails to perform its function, it can lead to the discharge of water from the water storage units potentially causing a lack of abundant storage capacity for flood mitigation or insufficient water volume to maintain the aquatic life. Either scenario could threaten the safety of human life and property and/or damage the ecological environment. As most of the components are exposed to the natural environment, they face hazards from potential unknown factors (such as short circuits, animal and insect bites, and chemical corrosion, etc.) which could cause the malfunction of the siphon components. Therefore, it is significant to understand the operational reliability of the siphon within the life cycle.
The ExtendSim Reliability module simplified the modeling of the maintenance process for this complex system. An optimized architecture of a siphon system was modeled providing accurate results of the system's component reliability, the mean time to failure, and the operational reliability of both non-repairable and repairable systems. Plus, ExtendSim allowed over 10,000 simulation runs to be completed in a short amount of time.