Template:Lognormal distribution Likelihood ratio confidence bounds

Likelihood Ratio Confidence Bounds

Bounds on Parameters

As covered in Chapter 5, the likelihood confidence bounds are calculated by finding values for [math]\displaystyle{ {{\theta }_{1}} }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ {{\theta }_{2}} }[/math] that satisfy:

[math]\displaystyle{ -2\cdot \text{ln}\left( \frac{L({{\theta }_{1}},{{\theta }_{2}})}{L({{\widehat{\theta }}_{1}},{{\widehat{\theta }}_{2}})} \right)=\chi _{\alpha ;1}^{2} }[/math]

This equation can be rewritten as:

[math]\displaystyle{ L({{\theta }_{1}},{{\theta }_{2}})=L({{\widehat{\theta }}_{1}},{{\widehat{\theta }}_{2}})\cdot {{e}^{\tfrac{-\chi _{\alpha ;1}^{2}}{2}}} }[/math]

For complete data, the likelihood formula for the normal distribution is given by:

[math]\displaystyle{ L({\mu }',{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}})=\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{\mathop \prod }}\,f({{x}_{i}};{\mu }',{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}})=\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{\mathop \prod }}\,\frac{1}{{{x}_{i}}\cdot {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}}\cdot \sqrt{2\pi }}\cdot {{e}^{-\tfrac{1}{2}{{\left( \tfrac{\text{ln}({{x}_{i}})-{\mu }'}{{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}}} \right)}^{2}}}} }[/math]

where the [math]\displaystyle{ {{x}_{i}} }[/math] values represent the original time-to-failure data. For a given value of [math]\displaystyle{ \alpha }[/math] , values for [math]\displaystyle{ {\mu }' }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] can be found which represent the maximum and minimum values that satisfy Eqn. (lratio3). These represent the confidence bounds for the parameters at a confidence level [math]\displaystyle{ \delta , }[/math] where [math]\displaystyle{ \alpha =\delta }[/math] for two-sided bounds and [math]\displaystyle{ \alpha =2\delta -1 }[/math] for one-sided.

Example 5

Five units are put on a reliability test and experience failures at 45, 60, 75, 90, and 115 hours. Assuming a lognormal distribution, the MLE parameter estimates are calculated to be [math]\displaystyle{ {{\widehat{\mu }}^{\prime }}=4.2926 }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ {{\widehat{\sigma }}_{{{T}'}}}=0.32361. }[/math] Calculate the two-sided 75% confidence bounds on these parameters using the likelihood ratio method.

Solution to Example 5

The first step is to calculate the likelihood function for the parameter estimates:

[math]\displaystyle{ \begin{align} L({{\widehat{\mu }}^{\prime }},{{\widehat{\sigma }}_{{{T}'}}})= & \underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{\mathop \prod }}\,f({{x}_{i}};{{\widehat{\mu }}^{\prime }},{{\widehat{\sigma }}_{{{T}'}}}), \\ = & \underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{\mathop \prod }}\,\frac{1}{{{x}_{i}}\cdot {{\widehat{\sigma }}_{{{T}'}}}\cdot \sqrt{2\pi }}\cdot {{e}^{-\tfrac{1}{2}{{\left( \tfrac{\text{ln}({{x}_{i}})-{{\widehat{\mu }}^{\prime }}}{{{\widehat{\sigma }}_{{{T}'}}}} \right)}^{2}}}} \\ L({{\widehat{\mu }}^{\prime }},{{\widehat{\sigma }}_{{{T}'}}})= & \underset{i=1}{\overset{5}{\mathop \prod }}\,\frac{1}{{{x}_{i}}\cdot 0.32361\cdot \sqrt{2\pi }}\cdot {{e}^{-\tfrac{1}{2}{{\left( \tfrac{\text{ln}({{x}_{i}})-4.2926}{0.32361} \right)}^{2}}}} \\ L({{\widehat{\mu }}^{\prime }},{{\widehat{\sigma }}_{{{T}'}}})= & 1.115256\times {{10}^{-10}} \end{align} }[/math]

where [math]\displaystyle{ {{x}_{i}} }[/math] are the original time-to-failure data points. We can now rearrange Eqn. (lratio3) to the form:

[math]\displaystyle{ L({\mu }',{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}})-L({{\widehat{\mu }}^{\prime }},{{\widehat{\sigma }}_{{{T}'}}})\cdot {{e}^{\tfrac{-\chi _{\alpha ;1}^{2}}{2}}}=0 }[/math]

Since our specified confidence level, [math]\displaystyle{ \delta }[/math] , is 75%, we can calculate the value of the chi-squared statistic, [math]\displaystyle{ \chi _{0.75;1}^{2}=1.323303. }[/math] We can now substitute this information into the equation:

[math]\displaystyle{ \begin{align} & L({\mu }',{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}})-L({{\widehat{\mu }}^{\prime }},{{\widehat{\sigma }}_{{{T}'}}})\cdot {{e}^{\tfrac{-\chi _{\alpha ;1}^{2}}{2}}}= & 0 \\ & L({\mu }',{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}})-1.115256\times {{10}^{-10}}\cdot {{e}^{\tfrac{-1.323303}{2}}}= & 0 \\ & L({\mu }',{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}})-5.754703\times {{10}^{-11}}= & 0 \end{align} }[/math]

It now remains to find the values of [math]\displaystyle{ {\mu }' }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] which satisfy this equation. This is an iterative process that requires setting the value of [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] and finding the appropriate values of [math]\displaystyle{ {\mu }' }[/math] , and vice versa.

The following table gives the values of [math]\displaystyle{ {\mu }' }[/math] based on given values of [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] .

[math]\displaystyle{ \begin{matrix} {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} & \mu _{1}^{\prime } & \mu _{2}^{\prime } & {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} & \mu _{1}^{\prime } & \mu _{2}^{\prime } \\ 0.24 & 4.2421 & 4.3432 & 0.37 & 4.1145 & 4.4708 \\ 0.25 & 4.2115 & 4.3738 & 0.38 & 4.1152 & 4.4701 \\ 0.26 & 4.1909 & 4.3944 & 0.39 & 4.1170 & 4.4683 \\ 0.27 & 4.1748 & 4.4105 & 0.40 & 4.1200 & 4.4653 \\ 0.28 & 4.1618 & 4.4235 & 0.41 & 4.1244 & 4.4609 \\ 0.29 & 4.1509 & 4.4344 & 0.42 & 4.1302 & 4.4551 \\ 0.30 & 4.1419 & 4.4434 & 0.43 & 4.1377 & 4.4476 \\ 0.31 & 4.1343 & 4.4510 & 0.44 & 4.1472 & 4.4381 \\ 0.32 & 4.1281 & 4.4572 & 0.45 & 4.1591 & 4.4262 \\ 0.33 & 4.1231 & 4.4622 & 0.46 & 4.1742 & 4.4111 \\ 0.34 & 4.1193 & 4.4660 & 0.47 & 4.1939 & 4.3914 \\ 0.35 & 4.1166 & 4.4687 & 0.48 & 4.2221 & 4.3632 \\ 0.36 & 4.1150 & 4.4703 & {} & {} & {} \\ \end{matrix} }[/math]

These points are represented graphically in the following contour plot:

(Note that this plot is generated with degrees of freedom [math]\displaystyle{ k=1 }[/math] , as we are only determining bounds on one parameter. The contour plots generated in Weibull++ are done with degrees of freedom [math]\displaystyle{ k=2 }[/math] , for use in comparing both parameters simultaneously.) As can be determined from the table the lowest calculated value for [math]\displaystyle{ {\mu }' }[/math] is 4.1145, while the highest is 4.4708. These represent the two-sided 75% confidence limits on this parameter. Since solutions for the equation do not exist for values of [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] below 0.24 or above 0.48, these can be considered the two-sided 75% confidence limits for this parameter. In order to obtain more accurate values for the confidence limits on [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] , we can perform the same procedure as before, but finding the two values of [math]\displaystyle{ \sigma }[/math] that correspond with a given value of [math]\displaystyle{ {\mu }'. }[/math] Using this method, we find that the 75% confidence limits on [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] are 0.23405 and 0.48936, which are close to the initial estimates of 0.24 and 0.48.

Bounds on Time and Reliability

In order to calculate the bounds on a time estimate for a given reliability, or on a reliability estimate for a given time, the likelihood function needs to be rewritten in terms of one parameter and time/reliability, so that the maximum and minimum values of the time can be observed as the parameter is varied. This can be accomplished by substituting a form of the normal reliability equation into the likelihood function. The normal reliability equation can be written as:

[math]\displaystyle{ R=1-\Phi \left( \frac{\text{ln}(t)-{\mu }'}{{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}}} \right) }[/math]

This can be rearranged to the form:

[math]\displaystyle{ {\mu }'=\text{ln}(t)-{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}}\cdot {{\Phi }^{-1}}(1-R) }[/math]

where [math]\displaystyle{ {{\Phi }^{-1}} }[/math] is the inverse standard normal. This equation can now be substituted into Eqn. (lognormlikelihood) to produce a likelihood equation in terms of [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}}, }[/math] [math]\displaystyle{ t }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ R\ \ : }[/math]

[math]\displaystyle{ L({{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}},t/R)=\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{\mathop \prod }}\,\frac{1}{{{x}_{i}}\cdot {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}}\cdot \sqrt{2\pi }}\cdot {{e}^{-\tfrac{1}{2}{{\left( \tfrac{\text{ln}({{x}_{i}})-\left( \text{ln}(t)-{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}}\cdot {{\Phi }^{-1}}(1-R) \right)}{{{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}}} \right)}^{2}}}} }[/math]

The unknown variable [math]\displaystyle{ t/R }[/math] depends on what type of bounds are being determined. If one is trying to determine the bounds on time for a given reliability, then [math]\displaystyle{ R }[/math] is a known constant and [math]\displaystyle{ t }[/math] is the unknown variable. Conversely, if one is trying to determine the bounds on reliability for a given time, then [math]\displaystyle{ t }[/math] is a known constant and [math]\displaystyle{ R }[/math] is the unknown variable. Either way, Eqn. (lognormliketr) can be used to solve Eqn. (lratio3) for the values of interest.

Example 6

For the data given in Example 5, determine the two-sided 75% confidence bounds on the time estimate for a reliability of 80%. The ML estimate for the time at [math]\displaystyle{ R(t)=80% }[/math] is 55.718.

Solution to Example 6

In this example, we are trying to determine the two-sided 75% confidence bounds on the time estimate of 55.718. This is accomplished by substituting [math]\displaystyle{ R=0.80 }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ \alpha =0.75 }[/math] into Eqn. (lognormliketr), and varying [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] until the maximum and minimum values of [math]\displaystyle{ t }[/math] are found. The following table gives the values of [math]\displaystyle{ t }[/math] based on given values of [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] .

[math]\displaystyle{ \begin{matrix} {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} & {{t}_{1}} & {{t}_{2}} & {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} & {{t}_{1}} & {{t}_{2}} \\ 0.24 & 56.832 & 62.879 & 0.37 & 44.841 & 64.031 \\ 0.25 & 54.660 & 64.287 & 0.38 & 44.494 & 63.454 \\ 0.26 & 53.093 & 65.079 & 0.39 & 44.200 & 62.809 \\ 0.27 & 51.811 & 65.576 & 0.40 & 43.963 & 62.093 \\ 0.28 & 50.711 & 65.881 & 0.41 & 43.786 & 61.304 \\ 0.29 & 49.743 & 66.041 & 0.42 & 43.674 & 60.436 \\ 0.30 & 48.881 & 66.085 & 0.43 & 43.634 & 59.481 \\ 0.31 & 48.106 & 66.028 & 0.44 & 43.681 & 58.426 \\ 0.32 & 47.408 & 65.883 & 0.45 & 43.832 & 57.252 \\ 0.33 & 46.777 & 65.657 & 0.46 & 44.124 & 55.924 \\ 0.34 & 46.208 & 65.355 & 0.47 & 44.625 & 54.373 \\ 0.35 & 45.697 & 64.983 & 0.48 & 45.517 & 52.418 \\ 0.36 & 45.242 & 64.541 & {} & {} & {} \\ \end{matrix} }[/math]

This data set is represented graphically in the following contour plot:

As can be determined from the table, the lowest calculated value for [math]\displaystyle{ t }[/math] is 43.634, while the highest is 66.085. These represent the two-sided 75% confidence limits on the time at which reliability is equal to 80%.

Example 7

For the data given in Example 5, determine the two-sided 75% confidence bounds on the reliability estimate for [math]\displaystyle{ t=65 }[/math] . The ML estimate for the reliability at [math]\displaystyle{ t=65 }[/math] is 64.261%.

Solution to Example 7

In this example, we are trying to determine the two-sided 75% confidence bounds on the reliability estimate of 64.261%. This is accomplished by substituting [math]\displaystyle{ t=65 }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ \alpha =0.75 }[/math] into Eqn. (lognormliketr), and varying [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] until the maximum and minimum values of [math]\displaystyle{ R }[/math] are found. The following table gives the values of [math]\displaystyle{ R }[/math] based on given values of [math]\displaystyle{ {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} }[/math] .

[math]\displaystyle{ \begin{matrix} {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} & {{R}_{1}} & {{R}_{2}} & {{\sigma }_{{{T}'}}} & {{R}_{1}} & {{R}_{2}} \\ 0.24 & 61.107% & 75.910% & 0.37 & 43.573% & 78.845% \\ 0.25 & 55.906% & 78.742% & 0.38 & 43.807% & 78.180% \\ 0.26 & 55.528% & 80.131% & 0.39 & 44.147% & 77.448% \\ 0.27 & 50.067% & 80.903% & 0.40 & 44.593% & 76.646% \\ 0.28 & 48.206% & 81.319% & 0.41 & 45.146% & 75.767% \\ 0.29 & 46.779% & 81.499% & 0.42 & 45.813% & 74.802% \\ 0.30 & 45.685% & 81.508% & 0.43 & 46.604% & 73.737% \\ 0.31 & 44.857% & 81.387% & 0.44 & 47.538% & 72.551% \\ 0.32 & 44.250% & 81.159% & 0.45 & 48.645% & 71.212% \\ 0.33 & 43.827% & 80.842% & 0.46 & 49.980% & 69.661% \\ 0.34 & 43.565% & 80.446% & 0.47 & 51.652% & 67.789% \\ 0.35 & 43.444% & 79.979% & 0.48 & 53.956% & 65.299% \\ 0.36 & 43.450% & 79.444% & {} & {} & {} \\ \end{matrix} }[/math]

This data set is represented graphically in the following contour plot:

As can be determined from the table, the lowest calculated value for [math]\displaystyle{ R }[/math] is 43.444%, while the highest is 81.508%. These represent the two-sided 75% confidence limits on the reliability at [math]\displaystyle{ t=65 }[/math] .