Abstract
Linear multistate consecutively connected systems (LMCCSs) have been widely applied in telecommunications. An LMCCS usually has several nodes arranged in sequence along a line, where connecting elements (CEs) are deployed at each node to provide connections to the following nodes. Many researchers have studied the reliability modeling and optimization of LMCCSs. However, most of the existing works on LMCCSs have focused on the uncertainty in connection ranges of CEs; none of them have considered signal loss during the transmission. In practice, a signal emitted from a node may neither completely reach nor completely not reach the destination node. In other words, only a fraction of the signal may reach the destination node whereas the rest is lost. This article makes new contributions by proposing a model that evaluates the expected signal fraction receivable by the sink node in an LMCCS subject to signal loss. Moreover, we solve the optimal design policy problem, which co-determines CEs allocation and nodes building to minimize the system cost while meeting certain constraints on system reliability and expected receivable signal fraction. Three examples are provided to illustrate the proposed model.