Identifying critical components in technical infrastructure networks

Abstract

A new method for identifying and ranking critical components and sets of components in technical infrastructures is presented. The criticality of a component or a set of components is defined as the vulnerability of the system to failure in a specific component, or set of components. The identification of critical components is increasingly difficult when considering multiple simultaneous failures. This is especially difficult when dealing with failures of multiple components with synergistic consequences, i.e. consequences that cannot be calculated by adding the consequences of the individual failures. The proposed method addresses this problem. In exemplifying the method, an analysis of an electric power distribution system in a Swedish municipality is presented. It is concluded that the proposed method facilitates the identification of critical sets of components for large-scale technical infrastructures.

Search of critically important objects of the gas industry with the method of determining critical elements in networks of technical infrastructures

“…The method for determining critical elements in technical infrastructure networks [9] facilitates the definition and ranking of such groups of elements (as well as groups of elements whose failure does not give a synergistic effect). The found critical elements or sets of elements can then be studied in more detail using probabilistic methods of risk analysis [10].…”

“…The determination of such sections of main gas pipelines and their combinations is complicated by the fact that in the current configuration of the Unified Gas Supply System of Russia there are about 500 edges. Therefore, at this stage of the study of critical objects of the gas industry, the authors proposed the use of the method of determining critical elements in the networks [9]. Its application is justified by the need to assess the importance of the gas sector's critical objects.…”

Complexity and Vulnerability Analysis of Critical Infrastructures: A Methodological Approach

“…Recent literature reviews reflect a growing attention in the research of infrastructure vulnerability, and contributions are produced in various disciplines and applied in many different fields [41]. In current research, because different disciplines have their own characteristics, the definitions of vulnerability are always different, especially between natural science and social science, and sometimes they seem ambiguous [42]. Generally speaking, there are two commonly accepted interpretations in research literature [19].…”

“…The other is that vulnerability applies to express a critical system component, a geographical location, or an aspect of a system [39]. According to these interpretations, there are different types of vulnerability analyses, ranging from global vulnerability analysis [44] and critical component analysis [42] to critical geographical locations analysis [45].…”

Flow-based vulnerability measures for network component importance: Experimentation with preparedness planning

“…The ability of e j to impact network performance in an adverse manner is a function of the network's vulnerability [34,52,53], similar in concept to a lack of robustness in the "resilience triangle" literature in civil infrastructure [10]. Jonsson et al [30] define vulnerability as the magnitude of damage given the occurrence of a particular disruptive event, noting that the vulnerability of a network is highly dependent upon the type and extent of disruption e j . We measure vulnerability as network performance after the removal of a set of nodes or links based only on topological features (i.e., without load redistribution leading to potential cascading failures).…”