  The time until the failure of some node of the system or until the end of
some stage of the operation of the tribological system is associated with the
change in entropy in the system that occurs during this time. Methods of the
first-passage time by a random process of some given level are used. We assume
that the first-passage time is equal to the time to failure. A statistical
distribution containing the first-passage time is introduced. The thermodynamic
parameter associated with the random variable of the first-passage time is
expressed in terms of the change in entropy. This parameter is also included in
the expression for the time to failure. This approach allows arbitrary reasons
for failures to be included in the consideration. The possibilities of the
proposed approach are discussed.
