Abstract
From the exact distribution of the maximum likelihood estimator of the average lifetime based on progressive hybrid exponential censored sample, we derive an explicit expression for the Bayes risk of a sampling plan when a quadratic loss function is used. The simulated annealing algorithm is then used to determine the optimal sampling plan. Some optimal Bayes solutions under progressive hybrid and ordinary hybrid censoring schemes are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Acknowledgements
We express our sincere thanks to the referees and the editor for their useful suggestions which led to an improvement over an earlier version of this manuscript. The first author thanks the National Science of Council of Taiwan (NSC Grant Number 96-2628-M-032-002-MY3) for funding this research, while the third author expresses thanks to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.