Synthetic Infrastructure Model for Cascading Failure Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Urban infrastructures face challenges in understanding cascading failures due to limited fine-scale data on interconnections and vulnerabilities, making it difficult to prepare for extreme events and prevent future catastrophes.
Innovation Solution
A system that synthesizes models of interconnected urban infrastructures, including water, power, and road networks, using synthetic algorithms to estimate interdependencies and simulate cascading failure scenarios, thereby evaluating infrastructure fitness and identifying areas for improvement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If synthetic algorithms are used to generate infrastructure models, then fine-scale information and interconnection data become available for analysis, but data accuracy and reliability may be compromised due to the synthetic nature of the information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates synthetic copies of infrastructure data through algorithms that generate realistic but artificial infrastructure models. These synthetic copies preserve the statistical properties and topological characteristics of real infrastructure networks while providing fine-scale data that would otherwise be unavailable or confidential. The copying approach allows detailed analysis without requiring access to sensitive real-world data.
Solution Approach 2:
The synthetic infrastructure model acts as an intermediary between the need for detailed fine-scale data and the unavailability of such data in real systems. By using synthetic algorithms as a mediator, the system can simulate cascading failures and analyze interconnections at the required granularity without directly accessing or compromising the integrity of actual infrastructure data.
2Measurement precision
If detailed fine-scale infrastructure data is collected and analyzed, then cascading failure patterns can be identified, but security concerns and data sharing limitations prevent data availability
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of collecting and storing sensitive real infrastructure data, the patent creates synthetic copies that replicate the essential characteristics and failure patterns of actual systems. This copying approach enables precise measurement and analysis of cascading failures while eliminating security risks associated with handling real infrastructure data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful limitation of data unavailability into a benefit by using synthetic data generation. The very fact that real data cannot be shared due to security concerns becomes advantageous, as synthetic data provides the same analytical capabilities without any security risks or data sharing limitations.
3Reliability
If synthetic infrastructure models are used to simulate cascading failures, then vulnerability assessment capability is improved, but system complexity increases due to modeling multiple interconnected infrastructures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex task of modeling multiple interconnected infrastructures into separate synthetic models for each infrastructure type (power, water, transportation, etc.). Each synthetic model can be generated and analyzed independently, then integrated to study cascading failures. This segmentation reduces the overall complexity by breaking down the monolithic modeling problem into manageable components.
Solution Approach 2:
The synthetic infrastructure modeling framework is designed as a universal system that can model multiple types of infrastructures using the same algorithmic approach. This multi-functional capability allows the system to handle different infrastructure types consistently, reducing complexity by applying a unified modeling methodology rather than requiring separate specialized models for each infrastructure type.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented SynF (Synthetic Infrastructure) model is designed to estimate the location and characteristics of urban water and power distribution networks, estimate how those networks are interconnected and connect to buildings and transportation systems, and assess how failures propagate within and across the systems. The model was designed using Phoenix metro area cities but has been extended to other cities.