Critical Infrastructure Facilities Research Articles

Development of approaches to estimation of risk parameters

To a great extent, safety is ensured in the design and operation of hazardous production facilities (HPF) through identifying, analyzing and predicting the risk of accidents (failures), involving, where possible, a more complete quantitative risk estimation in determination of the HPF condition [1], which is the responsibility of the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (Rostechnadzor). Among the HPFs, where multifactor risks exist at the stage of design, a special place is occupied by nuclear power installations, shelf development facilities, oil and gas platforms, as well as critical infrastructure facilities as the assets essential for the healthy state of society and the national economy in conditions of impacts from the catastrophic risk factors [2–4].The issues involved in the estimation and prediction of hazards from unfavorable situations, emergencies, accidents and failures are considered in [2,3,5–7] where the safety of HPFs is defined by two major factors: probability of an unfavorable event (situation) and the damage from such event, using different risk identification methods, including recent advances in the asymptotic theory of the probability of extreme values.To solve the risk estimation problems, issues involved in the estimation of risk parameters have been considered with different options of the HPF state graphical space interpretation. Peculiarities of estimating the risk sensitivity and the risk degree have been described and the evolution of approaches to the estimation of risk in the HPF design and operation has been shown. Big data analysis methods for risk management have been proposed.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SITUATIONAL BACKGROUND FOR A PROTECTED OBJECT OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (ON THE EXAMPLE OF AUTOMOBILE VEHICLES)

The work is devoted to the development of the foundations of a new conceptual approach to identifying signs of preparing a terrorist act or other hostile actions against protected objects using the example of the use of the situational background of motor vehicles in protected critical infrastructure facilities. The work initially gave a description of the protected objects of critical infrastructure. It has been shown that nuclear and hydroelectric power plants, chemical and petrochemical plants, metallurgical plants and enterprises of the defense industry, telecommunication centers (communication centers) and a lot of other state enterprises and private institutions are among the critical infrastructure objects that are protected, the failure or malfunction of which can cause a loss Management or lead to significant losses at the national, regional or local level. Identification features of motor vehicles operating near critical infrastructure facilities are considered. Two groups of characteristics are identified according to which data are collected. The first group of identification signs includes ten subgroups. The first - belonging to the protected object (object, near the object, transit vehicle) and the owner of the vehicle. The second is the destination (cargo, passenger, special). Third - Appearance (brand, color, damage, etc.). The fourth is the number of state, departmental or international registration. The fifth is the characteristics of the driver of the vehicle. The sixth is the type and location of the engine. Seventh - Design features of the vehicle. Eighth - the presence of a trailer, tug and other devices. The ninth - the availability and characteristics of passengers. Tenth - the availability and characteristics of goods. This group of identification features is called a group of static characteristics, since they completely allow the identification of an automobile vehicle. The second group is a group of dynamic characteristics that describe the movement of vehicles. It includes subgroups of characteristics that determine the route of the car. The first is the point of departure. The second is the destination. The third is the time of departure. The fourth is the time of arrival. The fifth is the time and place of the stops. The sixth is the purpose of these stops and their duration. Seventh and subsequent subgroups of characteristics are given depending on the type of vehicle. Systematization of data, about vehicles appearing in close proximity to the object, allows for each vehicle to have a set of standard characteristics of its use. This is not only the route of the car, the time and place of parking it in the parking lot near the facility, the time of departure from the parking lot and the route of the return journey. This and the number of people coming with the driver and leaving with him, it's stopping for the purpose of landing (landing) of passengers, buying food and refueling the car, and much more. All this information on the days of the week, on weekends and holidays, in summer, autumn, winter and spring allows you to create databases and knowledge of all vehicles operating near critical infrastructure facilities. The totality of these data is usually called the situational background of motor vehicles operating near the protected critical infrastructure facility. The more fixations of the vehicle will be performed, the more accurate will be the staff characteristics of its use. It is shown that the registration, collection, systematization and subsequent periodic analysis of deviations from the standard characteristics of the use of vehicles operating in the protected facilities of critical infrastructure, allows early detection of signs characterizing the preparation of a terrorist act or other hostile actions with respect to a protected facility.

PROTECTION OF OBJECTS OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FROM RADIOACTIVE AND CHEMICAL POLLUTION OF THE ATMOSPHERE

The paper suggests a new conceptual approach to the problem of protecting personnel in critical infrastructure facilities. It is shown that radioactive particles as a result of the primary fission of nuclear material, radioactive particles resulting from secondary irradiation, radioactive gases and aerosols, as well as radionuclides formed upon activation of air nuclei, are the damaging factors of radioactive contamination of the atmosphere. Harmful factors of chemical pollution of the atmosphere are oxides, phenols, hydrocarbons, as well as aerosols of various chemical, including highly toxic substances, as well as decomposition and combustion products. They enter and are formed in the atmosphere as a result of nuclear explosions, technogenic accidents, fires of man-made and natural objects, as well as explosions of dirty radioactive and chemical bombs. Most of the protective structures after the nineties were used for storage facilities and even for vegetable stores, as a result of which they came to a state that does not allow them to be used for the purpose for which they were intended. Some of them are in satisfactory and even good condition. However, the equipment is both physically and morally obsolete. A new conceptual approach to protecting critical infrastructure facilities from radioactive and chemical pollution of the atmosphere is to create new collective protective equipment that is designed to protect the respiratory organs and skin of personnel. Their design execution provides for the creation of special protective premises on the basis of conference halls, canteens, cafes, which continue to be used on a daily basis for their intended purpose by equipping them with stationary filter-ventilation installations that provide air support in sheltering people. Portable collective protective equipment is created on the basis of inflatable tents made of special insulating materials, the air support in which is created by a built-in filter-ventilation installation or by etching compressed air (oxygen) from the balloon through a special reducer.

NEEWS: A novel earthquake early warning model using neural dynamic classification and neural dynamic optimization

An Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS) can save lives. It can also be used to manage the critical lifeline infrastructure and essential facilities. Recent research on earthquake prediction towards the development of an EEWS can be classified into two groups based on a) arrival of P waves and b) seismicity indicators. The first approach can provide warnings within a timeframe of seconds. A seismicity indicator-based EEWS is intended to forecast major earthquakes within a time frame of weeks. In this paper, a novel seismicity indicator-based EEWS model, called neural EEWS (NEEWS), is presented for forecasting the earthquake magnitude and its location weeks before occurrence using a combination of a classification algorithm (CA) based on machine learning concepts and a mathematical optimization algorithm (OA). The role of the CA is to find whether there is an earthquake in a given time period greater than a predefined magnitude threshold and the role of the OA is to find the location of that earthquake with the maximum probability of occurrence. The model is tested using earthquake data in southern California with a combination of four CAs and one OA to find the best EEWS model. The proposed model is capable of predicting strong disastrous events as long as sufficient data are available for such events. The paper provides a novel solution to the complex problem of earthquake prediction through adroit integration of a machine learning classification algorithm and the robust neural dynamics optimization algorithm of Adeli and Park.

Planning resilient motor-fuel supply chain

Two major extreme-weather events occurred in New York State between 2011 and 2012. Each with the odds of a 100-year occurrence suggesting that such extreme events are the region’s “new normal.” City and state policy-makers, in response, are studying how to develop a network of robust, resilient critical infrastructure facilities. These studies, however, typically fail to address interdependencies among critical infrastructures and lack a quantitative tool to investigate the maximum resilience possessed by a given infrastructure facility in the face of climate-change-induced hazards.We propose a multi-stage stochastic mathematical program to maximize network resilience given: i) random arrival of extreme events; ii) the network’s inherent capacity to withstand and cope with the aftermath of exogenous shocks; iii) pre-, during-, and post-event strategies available to enhance system operability; and iv) budgeting and technological restrictions facing policy-makers.Our approach allows both qualitative and quantitative paradigms to interact. Our model thus clarifies how to allocate resources proactively and how the network’s absorptive, adaptive, and restorative capacities can be coordinated to enhance overall system resilience. Our findings suggest that an integrated planning approach combined with smart allocation of resources across a network’s main elements creates a greater degree of resilience while utilizing less costly resilience-enhancing strategies.

Punching shear failure in blast-loaded RC slabs and panels

Reinforced concrete (RC) slabs and panels are commonly encountered in critical infrastructure and industrial facilities with a high risk of close-range explosions due to accidents or terrorist attacks. Close-in detonations lead to high intensity concentrated loads which can cause a premature brittle punching failure of the member. The assessment of such type of failure mode is challenging since the loading source varies its magnitude in space and time. This paper proposes an analytical method by which the occurrence of punching (or otherwise) is assessed by comparing the dynamic shear demand and capacity (supply). An exponentially decaying distribution of reflected overpressures on the RC surface is presented for this analysis. The punching shear demand is estimated from the pressure and inertial forces acting in the free body diagram. The dynamic punching shear capacity is obtained using the Critical Shear Crack Theory with small slab deformations which are predicted from an equivalent single-degree-of freedom model. The proposed approach takes into account the impulsive behaviour of the member leading to a higher punching capacity and provides better predictions than using existing formulae for punching which are based on tests with quasi-static loading and deformations. The proposed analytical equations are further supported by numerical explicit finite element models providing useful information of crack development, dynamic reactions and deflections. The application of the proposed method has been illustrated and validated by comparison with various tests with scale distances from 0.2 to 1.5m/kg1/3. A practical example is presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method.

Covert Attacks in Cyber-Physical Control Systems

The advantages of using communication networks to interconnect controllers and physical plants motivate the increasing number of Networked Control Systems, in industrial and critical infrastructure facilities. However, this integration also exposes such control systems to new threats, typical of the cyber domain. In this context, studies have been conduced, aiming to explore vulnerabilities and propose security solutions for cyber-physical systems. In this paper, it is proposed a covert attack for service degradation, which is planned based on the intelligence gathered by another attack, herein proposed, referred as System Identification attack. The simulation results demonstrate that the joint operation of the two attacks is capable to affect, in a covert and accurate way, the physical behavior of a system.

EVOLUTION AND RATIONALE FOR UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE PROTECTION STANDARD

ABSTRACTThe United States (US) Department of Defense (DoD) Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) protection standard offers a solid basis for protecting commercial communication, data, and control facilities. Because of the standard's shielded barrier and test requirements, it is not surprising that there is a strong temptation within industry and government to dismiss the MIL‐STD 188‐125 approach in favor of less rigorous protection methods. It is important to understand that US DoD EMP protection standard for fixed facilities, MIL‐STD‐188‐125, reflects an evolution by trial and error that spanned a period of decades beginning with the acquisition of the Minuteman Missile System in the 1960s. In fact, one of the main motivating factors for developing the standard was that system developers in the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Defense Communications Agency (now Defense Information Systems Agency) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency tried less technically‐sound approaches that failed in their effectiveness, testability, and maintainability. This paper revisits the development of the US DoD standard and explains its provisions and underlying technical rationale. The paper's objective is to enable the public officials and engineers involved in planning and implementing EMP protection for critical infrastructure facilities to avoid the pitfalls encountered in the past and use the best practices available to achieve low risk protection designs that can be maintained over the entire lifecycle of critical infrastructure systems.

Sensitivity of Flood-Depth Frequency to Watershed-Runoff Change and Sea-Level Rise Using a One-Dimensional Hydraulic Model

AbstractClimate change and sea-level rise are expected to alter the likelihood of extreme events, such as floods, within the design lifetime of infrastructure components. Critical civil infrastructure facilities, including wastewater treatment, transportation, and energy, need site-specific flood contingency plans that reflect the effects of changing climate. This study developed a sensitivity analysis method to assess future flood risk by estimating flood frequency under conditions of higher sea level and streamflow response to increased precipitation intensity. The method was applied to an ungauged location on a tidal estuary in the Mid-Atlantic region as a case study. One-dimensional (1D) unsteady flow analysis using a hydraulic analysis software developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was used to predict discharge and water surface elevation along the estuary reach, subject to prescribed boundary conditions of upstream discharge and downstream water surface elevation. A current-climate flood-dep...

Private Participation in US Infrastructure: The Role of PPP Units

The use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) is expanding globally. PPP contracts have become the main vehicle to incorporate private-sector skills, resources, and risk management into the delivery of critical infrastructure facilities. PPPs include two key elements: bundling together, in some combination, facility design, construction, operation, maintenance, and financing, along with the meaningful transfer of infrastructure-related risks to private partners. PPPs have been used to deliver network infrastructure such as roads, bridges, tunnels, and water systems, as well as social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, prisons, and courthouses. Properly designed, executed, and enforced PPPs can create substantial social value. Poorly designed PPPs, however, can generate social costs. Therefore, ensuring careful end-to-end management of the PPP process is crucial to their success. Countries around the world are addressing those challenges by creating PPP units. PPP units are quasi-governmental entities that assist the public sector with pre-project screening, project prioritization, education, and expert advice. PPP units have been established in Australia, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Egypt, the United Kingdom, and India, among many other countries. They strive to ensure that infrastructure projects attract private participation while promoting the public interest. Despite their global popularity, PPP units remain relatively understudied and underused in the United States. PPP units have effectively supported private participation in infrastructure around the world. Because the US lags behind other developed countries in PPP use, the benefits of such units would likely be large if implemented here. In this report, we consider how the United States can effectively use PPP units. Fifty such units would emerge if undertaken at the state level. This would result in many relatively small units with minimal PPP deal flow that fail to capture economies in size and scope. Alternatively, a single large federal PPP unit could create problems of its own. We explore a middle ground: creating seven regional PPP units in conjunction with a federal unit. Modeled roughly on the West Coast Infrastructure Exchange (WCX), these regional PPP units mirror the seven emerging US economic megaregions. Their formation would occur in concert with evolving federal PPP unit efforts. We then review the set of benefits generated by our proposed regional PPP units. Benefits include greater public-sector understanding of and expertise in PPP project delivery, discovering and implementing global best practices, improved project screening and prioritization, lower transaction costs associated with PPPs, and the allocation of capital to higher-valued projects. Greater reliance on PPP units would refocus US infrastructure investment on asset performance, rigorous project evaluation, and enhanced public-sector procurement capacity. PPP units would also allow state and local governments to improve their infrastructure project development and delivery while effectively managing risk and addressing a set of well-recognized US infrastructure problems.

An advanced approach to security measurement system

The importance of information security has increased gradually. Initially, the notion of information security was limited to only a few areas. Now, it has expanded to cover a variety of areas. For example, critical infrastructure facilities such as power plants are operated online using industrial control systems so that the facilities are exposed to cyber threats. This is also the case with the other fields that are operated online. Each field requires appropriate information security management. Thus, this paper proposes an advanced security measurement system that reflects the characteristics of each field to achieve effective information security management.

Measuring Progress on Climate Change Adaptation: Lessons from the Community Well-Being Analogue

While research on assessing climate change adaptation (CCA) activities is in the nascent stage of development, measuring similar endeavors within the community well-being (CWB) field is well established across Canada and internationally through the use of indicators and associated measures. CCA activities are an important part of building resilience to climate-induced natural disasters, and reducing secondary hazards arising from damage to critical infrastructure and other essential facilities. This study evaluated the CWB analogue to provide lessons for the measurement of progress and adaptation to climate change at the municipal level. Since the impacts of climate change are experienced at the local scale and effective CCA is thought to require local scale engagement and targeted action, municipal scale measurement is key to understanding CCA progress. Research involved an extensive review of CWB models and key informant interviews conducted with key Canadian municipal and international authorities who are leaders in spearheading CWB initiatives. In the paper we outline the major CWB models, our findings from the CWB analogue and the lessons learned for CCA measurement. In particular, we suggest that early engagement and participative processes, flexible and adaptable measurement tools, careful consideration of data requirements, ‘mainstreaming’ CCA measurement into ongoing activities and the “de-siloing” of expertise will be important for the success of CCA measurement activities at the municipal scale.

Earthquake Shaking Hazard Estimates and Exposure Changes in the Conterminous United States

A large portion of the population of the United States lives in areas vulnerable to earthquake hazards. This investigation aims to quantify population and infrastructure exposure in places within the conterminous United States that are subjected to varying levels of earthquake ground motions by systematically analyzing the last four cycles of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Models (published in 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014). Using the 2013 LandScan data, we estimate the number of people who are exposed to potentially damaging ground motions (peak ground accelerations at or above 0.1 g). At least 28 million (~9% of the total population) may experience 0.1 g level of shaking at relatively frequent intervals [annual rate of 1 in 72 years or 50% probability of exceedance (PE) in 50 years], 57 million (~18% of the total population) may experience this level of shaking at moderately frequent intervals (annual rate of 1 in 475 years or 10% PE in 50 years), and 143 million (~46% of the total population) may experience such shaking at relatively infrequent intervals (annual rate of 1 in 2,475 years or 2% PE in 50 years). We also show that there are a significant number of critical infrastructure facilities located in high-earthquake-hazard areas (modified Mercalli intensity ≥ VII with moderately frequent recurrence interval).

Some methodical aspects of critical infrastructure protection

The priority ranking that relates to critical infrastructure facilities protection against acts of terrorism (as exemplified by the fuel and energy complex facilities) has been discussed. The ranking algorithm as applied to similar facilities, which is based on their systemic significance for the fuel and energy complex, has been suggested. Besides, the algorithm for forming the ranked list of different-type facilities of the fuel and energy complex has been suggested, too.

Decision Support System for Flood Protection of Critical Infrastructure Facilities Based on Water Intake Map

Decision Support System for Flood Protection of Critical Infrastructure Facilities Based on Water Intake Map

Detection and Identification of People at a Critical Infrastructure Facilities of Trafic Buildings

Tento prispevok sa zaobera problematikou identifikacie osob vstupujucich do objektov kritickej infrastruktury a naslednou detekciou ich pohybu v castiach objektov. Ozrejmuje niektore technologie a postupy, ktore su pri spracovani specifickej obrazovej informacie, kde je použite stavajuce vybavenie budov. V clanku je ďalej opisaný navrhnutý algoritmus na detekciu osoby. Prinasa nový pohľad na detekciu pohybujucich sa objektov (zaujmových skupin osob) na uzavretých plochach, pricom kladie doraz na zabezpecenie voľne pristupných miest v budovach. Na zaklade navrhnuteho algoritmu identifikacie s predpokladaným využitim 3D aplikacie je možne automatizovane identifikovať trajektoriu pohybu osoby vo vymedzenom priestore. Aplikacia bola vytvorena v opensourse softverovom prostriedku s využitim knižnice OpenCV.

An Empirical Analysis of Wine Tourists’ Perspective on Tourism Infrastructure in Wine Regions of Maharashtra

Wine tourism in Maharashtra is slowly but surely evolving and entering into the ‗growth phase‘. Tourism infrastructure development is one of the primary steps in tourism product development process; therefore there is a need to assess the quality of existing tourism infrastructure in the wine tourism regions in Maharashtra so as to promote and further the growth of the wine tourism product in Maharashtra. It is important to understand the exact nature or type as well as importance of tourism infrastructure from the wine tourists‘ perspective for an enhanced and overall wine tourism experience. This paper is based on a study undertaken with two objectives:(a) to study the importance of various tourism infrastructure facilities in wine tourism growth; (b) to analyse the gap, if any, between the expected and the actual quality of critical tourism infrastructure in wine regions in Maharashtra as perceived by the tourists. For the purpose of this study, twelve (12) most critical tourism infrastructure facilities were identified and questionnaire was prepared on the same. The respondents to the questionnaire are the wine tourists as this paper aims to understand the perception of the wine tourists on tourism infrastructure facilities at the wine tourism destinations in the state. This paper is aimed at forming the basis for further research on wine tourism management in Maharashtra. The paper will try to suggest a roadmap for ‗need based infrastructure development‘ for a sustainable growth of the wine tourism destinations in Maharashtra based on the findings of the study.

Risk assessment for a video surveillance system based on Fuzzy Cognitive Maps

For various IT systems security is considered a key quality factor. In particular, it might be crucial for video surveillance systems, as their goal is to provide continuous protection of critical infrastructure and other facilities. Risk assessment is an important activity in security management; it aims at identifying assets, threats and vulnerabilities, analysis of implemented countermeasures and their effectiveness in mitigating risks. This paper discusses an application of a new risk assessment method, in which risk calculation is based on Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) to a complex automated video surveillance system. FCMs are used to capture dependencies between assets and FCM based reasoning is applied to aggregate risks assigned to lower-level assets (e.g. cameras, hardware, software modules, communications, people) to such high level assets as services, maintained data and processes. Lessons learned indicate, that the proposed method is an efficient and low-cost approach, giving instantaneous feedback and enabling reasoning on effectiveness of security system.

Is flooding in Toronto a concern?

Toronto is the largest city in Canada with a population of about 5.5 million in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Being located at the shores of Lake Ontario of the Great Lakes, which is the largest surface freshwater system in the world, and affected by air masses originating from the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Arctic, the city is vulnerable to extreme weather phenomena in socioeconomic and geographical terms. This short paper gives a brief overview of the history of main flooding occurrences in Toronto with an emphasis on the recent flooding of July 2013. An analysis of causes and physical dynamics of the event is presented using the structure of the watersheds and weather systems in the region. Based on the flood risk vulnerability assessment carried out on the 2013 flooding, several weaknesses in critical infrastructure and critical facilities have been highlighted. Future considerations and recommendations include revisiting of the flood damage mitigation strategies (e.g., use of new and adaptive infrastructure designs, social media, crowd-sourcing information), flood zoning update, tax incentives, insurance options, and retrofitting solutions for those living in flood-prone areas.

Natural Hazards in Ontario, Canada: An Analysis for Resilience Building

This study analyses all natural hazards that occurred in Ontario, Canada during the period 1900 - 2013. The focus of this research is on the impact on critical infrastructure and critical facilities during these events. There are a total of 160 events during this period; almost 1.5 events per year. The events are classified into hydrological, meteorological, geological, and biological types. In terms of the frequency of the events, floods were the highest at 56 followed by severe thunder storms at 21, 19 wildfires, 17 tornadoes, 14 winter storms, and less than 10 events each of epidemics, drought, unspecified storms, extreme cold and heat, sinkholes, and hurricanes. Damage to critical infrastructure, both short term and long term included damaged power lines due to flooding and ice storms, highway closures, disruption to the ferry service, and back up of sewer with raw sewage onto the streets. Disruptions occurred in critical facilities, such as fire services, isolation of hospitals, no home delivery of milk, ice, and fuel posing threat to life for vulnerable population. Even though flooding was common to both long and short term impacts, for short term impact, the second highest are severe thunder storms and tornadoes followed by epidemics; whereas for long term impact events, the second highest hazard is wildfire followed by severe thunder storms. Extensive analysis has been carried out to provide better understanding of natural hazards occurrences and their impact for the purpose of building disaster resilience in communities.