A Reliability Application of a Mixture of Inverse Gaussian Distributions

Running Title: Mixture of Inverse GaU88ian Distributions 2 SUMMARY A mixture of Inverse GaU88ian distributions is examined as a model for the lifetime of components. The components differ in one of three ways: in their initial quality, rate of wear, or variability of wear. These three cases are well represented by the parameters of the Inverse GaU88ian model. The mechanistic interpretation of the Inverse GaU88ian distribution as the first passage time of Brownian motion with positive drift is adopted. The parameten considered are either dichotomous or continuous random variables. Parameter estimation is also examined for these two cases. The model seems to be most appropriate when the single Inverse Gaussian distribution model fails due to heterogeneity of the initial component quality.