What is the purpose of Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) in reliability engineering?

The purpose of Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) in reliability engineering is to identify and analyze the potential causes of a specific undesired event, often a system failure or hazard, in a structured and logical manner. FTA is a top-down, deductive approach that starts with the undesired event (the 'top event') and then systematically identifies all the possible ways in which that event could occur. This is done by constructing a fault tree, which is a graphical representation of the logical relationships between the top event and the various contributing events, such as component failures, human errors, or external factors. The fault tree uses logic gates, such as AND gates and OR gates, to connect the events and show how they combine to cause the top event. By analyzing the fault tree, it is possible to identify the most critical components or events that contribute to the risk of the undesired event. This information can then be used to implement measures to reduce the likelihood of the event occurring, such as improving component reliability, adding redundancy, or implementing safety interlocks. Therefore, the goal of FTA is to improve system safety and reliability by identifying and mitigating potential failure pathways.