Robustness Assessment of Cyber–Physical System with Different Interdependent Mechanisms

Abstract

Cyber–physical systems (CPSs) are a new generation of intelligent system that integrate communication, control and computation functions and are widely used in traditional infrastructure networks, such as power network, transportation network and others. In order to ensure the stable operation and improve the robustness of CPSs, the studies of robustness assessment have attracted much attention from academia. However, previous models assume that the failure propagation conforms to a strongly interdependent relationship, and only consider the interaction between nodes, while ignoring the interaction between nodes and links. In this paper, we develop a novel simulation model with the consideration of both the coupling modes and the failure propagation objects. Based on the simulation model, we study how the interdependent mechanisms, failure propagation probability and protection strategies affect the robustness of CPSs. The simulations of our proposed model are demonstrated in a test CPS formed by coupling two classical complex networks. Compared with previous models, our proposed model shows different performances and comprehensively characterizes the interdependent relationship of CPSs. In detail, disassortative coupling shows the worst performance and the CPS becomes more sensitive to failure propagation when Node–Link is selected as the failure propagation object. In addition, compared to the communication network, the power network is more sensitive to failure propagation. Protecting electrical nodes is a more effective way to strengthen the robustness of CPSs when conservation resources are limited. Our work provides useful advice to operators on how to effectively design and protect a CPS.