Robustness of Spatial Micronetworks

Abstract

Power lines, roadways, pipelines and other physical infrastructure are critical to modern society. These structures may be viewed as spatial networks where geographic distances play a role in the functionality and construction cost of links. Traditionally, studies of network robustness have primarily considered the connectedness of large, random networks. Yet for spatial infrastructure physical distances must also play a role in network robustness. Understanding the robustness of small spatial networks is particularly important with the increasing interest in microgrids, small-area distributed power grids that are well suited to using renewable energy resources. We study the random failures of links in small networks where functionality depends on both spatial distance and topological connectedness. By introducing a percolation model where the failure of each link is proportional to its spatial length, we find that, when failures depend on spatial distances, networks are more fragile than expected. Accounting for spatial effects in both construction and robustness is important for designing efficient microgrids and other network infrastructure.

15 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (22)

• Statistical mechanics of complex networks
• The structure and function of complex networks
• Catastrophic cascade of failures in interdependent networks
• Network robustness and fragility: Percolation on random graphs
• Spatial Networks
• Resilience of the Internet to random breakdowns
• Dynamical and correlation properties of the Internet
• Breakdown of the Internet under intentional attack
• Structural Vulnerability of the North American Power Grid
• Scaling and percolation in the small-world network model
• Mitigation of Malicious Attacks on Networks
• The spatial structure of networks
• Comparing the Topological and Electrical Structure of the North American Electric Power Infrastructure
• Optimal design of spatial distribution networks
• Designing optimal transport networks
• Scale-free Networks on Lattices
• Shape and efficiency in spatial distribution networks
• Extended navigability of small world networks: exact results and new insights
• Asymptotic behavior of the Kleinberg model
• Kleinberg Navigation in Fractal Small World Networks
• Robustness of skeletons and salient features in networks
• Kleinberg navigation on anisotropic lattices

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Percolation on complex networks: Theory and application
• Planning for Electric Vehicles Coupled with Urban Mobility
• Cascading Failures in Complex Networks
• Two distinct transitions in spatially embedded multiplex networks
• Resilience of Networks Formed of Interdependent Modular Networks
• Spreading of localized attacks in spatial multiplex networks
• Centralized versus Decentralized Infrastructure Networks