Sequences of non-decreasing (non-increasing) lower (upper) bounds for the renewal-type equation as well as for the renewal function which are improvements of the famous corresponding bounds of Marshal [(1973). Linear bounds on the renewal function. SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics 24(2): 245–250] are given. Also, sequences such bounds converging to the ordinary renewal function are obtained for several reliability classes of the lifetime distributions of the inter-arrival times, which are refinements of all of the existing known corresponding bounds. For the first time, a lower bound for the renewal function with DMRL lifetimes is given. Finally, sequences of such improved bounds are given for the ordinary renewal density as well as for the right-tail of the distribution of the forward recurrence time.

In this study, an approximation to the solution of the renewal integral equation is constructed. Performance of the new method is evaluated and it is shown that the approximation provides an upper bound for the renewal function when the hazard function is a non-increasing function of time.

How often will a store with two elevators be without service assuming that repairs are quick? In this note it is shown that, under very mild assumptions on the operating- and repair-time distributions, the times when the building is without service are asymptotically Poisson.

A stochastic model of a finite dam in which the epochs of input form a renewal process is considered. It is assumed that the quantities of input at different epochs and the inter-input times are two independent families of random variables whose characteristic functions are rational functions. The release rate is equal to unity. An imbedding equation is set up for the probability frequency governing the water level in the first wet period and the resulting equation is solved by Laplace transform technique. Explicit expressions relating to the moments of the random variables representing the number of occasions in which the dam becomes empty as well as the total duration of the dry period in any arbitrary interval of time are indicated for negative exponentially distributed inter-input times.