Controlling Cascading Failure: Understanding the Vulnerabilities of Interconnected Infrastructures

Little, Richard

doi:10.1080/106307302317379855

Cited by 289 publications

(162 citation statements)

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“…Flexibility and diversity: The ability to perform essential tasks under a wide range of conditions, and to convert assets or modify structures to introduce new ways of doing so. A resilient system has key assets and functions physically distributed so that they are not all affected by a given event at any one time (spatial diversity) and has multiple ways of meeting a given need (functional diversity (Little, 2002).…”

Section: Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A framework for urban climate resilience

Tyler¹,

Moench

2012

Climate and Development

632

281

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Climate change will have unavoidable impacts on urban systems and populations, especially in Asia where many large cities are exposed. Climate adaptation will be essential, and planning for adaptation can be simplified through operationalizing concepts of climate resilience and vulnerability. This article reviews concepts and theories in a range of diverse fields to illustrate how the general notion of urban climate resilience can be developed into an operational framework for planning practitioners. The framework integrates theoretical and empirical knowledge of the factors contributing to resilience with processes for translating those concepts into practice. The framework includes characteristics of urban systems, the agents (people and organizations) that depend on and manage those systems, institutions that link systems and agents, and patterns of exposure to climate change. It operationalizes these concepts through structured and iterative shared learning approaches that allow local planners to define these factors in their own context, in order to develop practical strategies for local action. The viability of the framework is demonstrated through examples from resilience planning activities undertaken in 10 cities across Asia through the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.

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Section: Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Core or 'critical' systems are essential to urban function (Little, 2002). Their failure jeopardizes human well-being in all affected areas, and precludes higher order economic activity until their function is restored.…”

Section: Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A framework for urban climate resilience

Tyler¹,

Moench

2012

Climate and Development

632

281

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“…Yet, these interconnections introduce weaknesses in the systems due to the fact that failures may cascade from one system to other interdependent systems until, possibly, affecting the overall functioning, if proper protection of interdependencies is not considered [4]. The role of dependencies among infrastructures (so called interdependencies), and the intrinsic difficulties arising in their modeling, have been highlighted in empirical studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The focus of the research on critical infrastructures must then be shifted from single, isolated systems to multiple, interconnected, mutually dependent systems. The aim becomes that of assessing the influences and limitations which interacting infrastructures impose on the individual system operating conditions, for avoiding fault propagation by designing redundancies and alternative modes of operations, and by detecting and recognizing threats [3].In modern society, the linking among service infrastructures is required for optimal and economical operation.Yet, these interconnections introduce weaknesses in the systems due to the fact that failures may cascade from one system to other interdependent systems until, possibly, affecting the overall functioning, if proper protection of interdependencies is not considered [4]. The role of dependencies among infrastructures (so called interdependencies), and the intrinsic difficulties arising in their modeling, have been highlighted in empirical studies.…”

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confidence: 99%

Modeling Interdependent Network Systems for Identifying Cascade-Safe Operating Margins

2011

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Abstract- I. INTRODUCTIONUnderstanding, modeling, and assessing the normal functioning and the possible faulty conditions of critical infrastructures (CIs) is essential to safely design these complex systems, and to effectively operate the services they provide. Distributed infrastructures have been modeled as graphs to unravel their structure and dynamics, and to evaluate to what extent the structure may impact the dynamics [1]. However, it is evident that infrastructures do not 3 exist in isolation of one another, and the relations among them must be identified to perform realistic and applicable analyses [2]. The focus of the research on critical infrastructures must then be shifted from single, isolated systems to multiple, interconnected, mutually dependent systems. The aim becomes that of assessing the influences and limitations which interacting infrastructures impose on the individual system operating conditions, for avoiding fault propagation by designing redundancies and alternative modes of operations, and by detecting and recognizing threats [3].In modern society, the linking among service infrastructures is required for optimal and economical operation.Yet, these interconnections introduce weaknesses in the systems due to the fact that failures may cascade from one system to other interdependent systems until, possibly, affecting the overall functioning, if proper protection of interdependencies is not considered [4]. The role of dependencies among infrastructures (so called interdependencies), and the intrinsic difficulties arising in their modeling, have been highlighted in empirical studies. For example, the database in [5] has been built from public reports of disruptions of CIs from open sources like newspapers and internet news. Events have been classified as "cascade initiating" (i.e., an event that causes an event in another CI), "cascade resulting" (i.e., an event that results from an event in another CI), and "independent" (i.e., an event that is neither a cascade initiating nor a cascade resulting event). The information in the database shows in particular that: i) "cascade resulting" events are more frequent than generally believed, and that "cascade initiators" are about half as frequent; ii) the dependencies are more focused and directional than often thought; and iii) energy and telecommunication are the main "cascading initiating" sectors.Interdependencies among telecommunication systems, transportation systems, and power distribution grids played a negative role in the small telecommunication blackout which took place in the suburbs of Rome in January 2004[6]. The chain of events originated in a major telecommunication service node when a metallic pipe carrying cooling water for the air conditioning broke. The resulting flood led to a communication blackout in the area, which in turn hit the country's biggest printed news agency transmissions; stopped the check-in, ticketing and luggage acceptance at the International Fiumicino Airport; disturbed post offices and banks operations; a...

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“…vulnerability of infrastructure | complex networks N etworks that constitute our critical infrastructure increasingly depend on one another, which enables cascades of load, stress, and failures (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6). The water network, for instance, turns turbines and cools nuclear reactors in the electrical grid, which powers the transportation and communications networks that underpin increasingly interdependent global economies.…”

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confidence: 99%

Suppressing cascades of load in interdependent networks

Brummitt¹,

D’Souza

Leicht

2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

491

347

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Understanding how interdependence among systems affects cascading behaviors is increasingly important across many fields of science and engineering. Inspired by cascades of load shedding in coupled electric grids and other infrastructure, we study the BakTang-Wiesenfeld sandpile model on modular random graphs and on graphs based on actual, interdependent power grids. Starting from two isolated networks, adding some connectivity between them is beneficial, for it suppresses the largest cascades in each system. Too much interconnectivity, however, becomes detrimental for two reasons. First, interconnections open pathways for neighboring networks to inflict large cascades. Second, as in real infrastructure, new interconnections increase capacity and total possible load, which fuels even larger cascades. Using a multitype branching process and simulations we show these effects and estimate the optimal level of interconnectivity that balances their trade-offs. Such equilibria could allow, for example, power grid owners to minimize the largest cascades in their grid. We also show that asymmetric capacity among interdependent networks affects the optimal connectivity that each prefers and may lead to an arms race for greater capacity. Our multitype branching process framework provides building blocks for better prediction of cascading processes on modular random graphs and on multitype networks in general.vulnerability of infrastructure | complex networks

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Controlling Cascading Failure: Understanding the Vulnerabilities of Interconnected Infrastructures

Cited by 289 publications

References 1 publication

A framework for urban climate resilience

A framework for urban climate resilience

Modeling Interdependent Network Systems for Identifying Cascade-Safe Operating Margins

Suppressing cascades of load in interdependent networks

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