Generating Synthetic Systems of Interdependent Critical Infrastructure Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces SICIN, a novel method for generating synthetic interdependent critical infrastructure networks using simulation and optimization, enabling better modeling and analysis of such systems.

Contribution

It presents a new approach combining modified simulated annealing, pseudo-tripartite graph algorithms, and nonlinear optimization to generate realistic synthetic infrastructure networks.

Findings

SICIN outperforms existing simulation methods in topological similarity.

The method accurately replicates flow characteristics of real networks.

Validation on real systems confirms its effectiveness.

Abstract

The lack of data on critical infrastructure systems has hindered the research progress in modeling and optimizing the system performance. This work develops a method for generating Synthetic Interdependent Critical Infrastructure Networks (SICIN) using simulation and non-linear optimization techniques. SICIN consists of three components: (i) determining the location of facilities in individual networks via a modified simulated annealing algorithm, (ii) generating interdependent links based on a novel pseudo-tripartite graph algorithm, and (iii) simulating network flow using nonlinear optimization considering the operations of individual networks and their interdependencies. Two existing systems of interdependent infrastructure networks are used to validate the proposed method. The results demonstrate that SICIN outperforms state-of-the-art simulation methods according to multiple topological and flow measures of similarity between the simulated and real networks.