Modeling and Vulnerability Analysis of Cyber-Physical Power Systems Considering Network Topology and Power Flow Properties

Abstract

Conventional power systems are developing into cyber-physical power systems (CPPS) with wide applications of communication, computer and control technologies. However, multiple practical cases show that the failure of cyber layers is a major factor leading to blackouts. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the cascading failure process considering cyber layer failures and analyze the vulnerability of CPPS. In this paper, a CPPS model, which consists of cyber layer, physical layer and cyber-physical interface, is presented using complex network theory. Considering power flow properties, the impacts of cyber node failures on the cascading failure propagation process are studied. Moreover, two vulnerability indices are established from the perspective of both network structure and power flow properties. A vulnerability analysis method is proposed, and the CPPS performance before and after cascading failures is analyzed by the proposed method to calculate vulnerability indices. In the case study, three typical scenarios are analyzed to illustrate the method, and vulnerabilities under different interface strategies and attack strategies are compared. Two thresholds are proposed to value the CPPS vulnerability roughly. The results show that CPPS is more vulnerable under malicious attacks and cyber nodes with high indices are vulnerable points which should be reinforced.

Impact of Cyber Attacks on High Voltage DC Transmission Damping Control

“…It also can be used for additional services other than bulk power transfers, such as damping power system inter-area oscillation [2]. At the same time, AC-HVDC grids have evolved to become huge cyber-physical systems (CPSs) that are vulnerable to cyber attacks because of the wide attack surface and increasing dependence on intelligent electronic devices, computing resources and communication networks [3,4]. The security and stability of AC-HVDC transmissions against cyber-attacks are essential to modern electric power systems.…”

Identification of Critical Transmission Lines in Complex Power Networks

“…At present, researches on the identification of critical or vulnerable transmission lines are usually based on three main factors: the network topology [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], the electrical characteristics [17][18][19][20][21][22][23], and the failure mechanism [24][25][26][27]. Power grids can be conceptually described as networks, so that topology-based theory provides a feasible way to study network vulnerability [7] and locate the critical transmission lines [8,9].…”

“…Power grids can be conceptually described as networks, so that topology-based theory provides a feasible way to study network vulnerability [7] and locate the critical transmission lines [8,9]. Some indices, such as betweenness [10][11][12][13], are proposed to describe the importance of different components. In topology-based methods, the betweenness of an edge is defined as the number of the shortest paths through it.…”

Next Generation Real-Time Smart Meters for ICT Based Assessment of Grid Data Inconsistencies

“…In study [27] the authors analysed the detection of tolerable false data injection in smart grids based on knowledge of the grid by decomposing it in several subsystems. A vulnerability analysis of cyber-physical power systems based on power flow and grid topology is also analysed in study [28].…”