To promote the resilience and protection of infrastructure assets from an all-hazards perspective, this paper describes the progress of interdependencies modeling and integration efforts to anticipate cascading failures among critical infrastructure systems. A data-centric architecture is adopted that integrates existing and proven infrastructure models used for impact assessment analyses to aid and enhance the design of resilient infrastructure systems. The assessment framework is applicable to all types of critical infrastructure and permits (1) the integration and automation of the assessment process, including threat and hazard identification and data acquisition; (2) the estimation and projection of impact zones; (3) the simulation of the initial effects on infrastructure assets resulting from an initiating disruptive event; (4) the evaluation of propagating effects within each infrastructure system; and (5) the simulation of the influence of cascading failures across infrastructure systems. The paper presents the application of the framework to integrate two proven energy models-EPfast, for electric power, and NGfast, for natural gas-to anticipate regional and local cascading failures, and design resilient energy systems. Two state-level case studies illustrate the approach in simulating the propagation of disruptions between the natural gas and electric power systems.

No abstract

This paper describes the capabilities, calculation logic, and foundational assumptions of EPfast, a new simulation and impact analysis tool developed by Argonne National Laboratory. The purpose of the model is to explore the tendency of power systems to spiral into uncontrolled islanding triggered by either man-made or natural disturbances. The model generates a report that quantifies the megawatt reductions in all affected substations, as well as the number, size, and spatial location of the formed island grids. The model is linear and is intended to simulate the impacts of high-consequence events on large-scale power systems. The paper describes a recent application of the model to examine the effects of a high-intensity New Madrid seismic event on the U.S. Eastern Interconnection (USEI). The model's final upgrade and subsequent application to the USEI were made possible via funding from

No abstract

No abstract