| Abstract: | This article considers nonparametric estimation of reliable life based on ranked set sampling and its properties. It is proven analytically that the large sample efficiency of the reliable life estimator under the balanced ranked set sampling is higher than that under the simple random sampling of the same size, but the relative efficiency damps away as the reliable life moves away from the median on both directions. To improve the efficiency for the estimation of extreme reliable life, we then propose a reliable life estimator under a modified ranked set sampling protocol, its strong consistency and asymptotic normality are established. The proposed sampling is shown to be superior to the balanced ranked set sampling, and the relative advantage improves as the reliable life moves away from median. Finally, results of simulation studies for small sample as well as an application to a real data set are presented to illustrate some of the theoretical findings. |
