Cascading failures in coupled networks with both inner-dependency and inter-dependency links

We study the percolation in coupled networks with both inner-dependency and inter-dependency links, where the inner- and inter-dependency links represent the dependencies between nodes in the same or different networks, respectively. We find that when most of dependency links are inner- or inter-ones, the coupled networks system is fragile and makes a discontinuous percolation transition. However, when the numbers of two types of dependency links are close to each other, the system is robust and makes a continuous percolation transition. This indicates that the high density of dependency links could not always lead to a discontinuous percolation transition as the previous studies. More interestingly, although the robustness of the system can be optimized by adjusting the ratio of the two types of dependency links, there exists a critical average degree of the networks for coupled random networks, below which the crossover of the two types of percolation transitions disappears, and the system will always demonstrate a discontinuous percolation transition. We also develop an approach to analyze this model, which is agreement with the simulation results well.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Faults and unbalance forces in the switched reluctance machine

The paper identifies and analyzes a number of severe fault conditions that can occur in the switched reluctance machine, from the electrical and mechanical points of view. It is shown how the currents, torques, and forces may be estimated, and examples are included showing the possibility of large lateral forces on the rotor. The methods used for analysis include finite-element analysis, magnetic circuit models, and experiments on a small machine specially modified for the measurement of forces and magnetization characteristics when the rotor is off-center. Also described is a computer program (PC-SRD dynamic) which is used for simulating operation under fault conditions as well as normal conditions. The paper discusses various electrical configurations of windings and controller circuits, along with methods of fault detection and protective relaying. The paper attempts to cover several analytical and experimental aspects as well as methods of detection and protection

Swarm shape manipulation through connection control

The control of a large swarm of distributed agents is a well known challenge within the study of unmanned autonomous systems. However, it also presents many new opportunities. The advantages of operating a swarm through distributed means has been assessed in the literature for efficiency from both operational and economical aspects; practically as the number of agents increases, distributed control is favoured over centralised control, as it can reduce agent computational costs and increase robustness on the swarm. Distributed architectures, however, can present the drawback of requiring knowledge of the whole swarm state, therefore limiting the scalability of the swarm. In this paper a strategy is presented to address the challenges of distributed architectures, changing the way in which the swarm shape is controlled and providing a step towards verifiable swarm behaviour, achieving new configurations, while saving communication and computation resources. Instead of applying change at agent level (e.g. modify its guidance law), the sensing of the agents is addressed to a portion of agents, differentially driving their behaviour. This strategy is applied for swarms controlled by artificial potential functions which would ordinarily require global knowledge and all-to-all interactions. Limiting the agents' knowledge is proposed for the first time in this work as a methodology rather than obstacle to obtain desired swarm behaviour

Contrasting Views of Complexity and Their Implications For Network-Centric Infrastructures

There exists a widely recognized need to better understand and manage complex “systems of systems,” ranging from biology, ecology, and medicine to network-centric technologies. This is motivating the search for universal laws of highly evolved systems and driving demand for new mathematics and methods that are consistent, integrative, and predictive. However, the theoretical frameworks available today are not merely fragmented but sometimes contradictory and incompatible. We argue that complexity arises in highly evolved biological and technological systems primarily to provide mechanisms to create robustness. However, this complexity itself can be a source of new fragility, leading to “robust yet fragile” tradeoffs in system design. We focus on the role of robustness and architecture in networked infrastructures, and we highlight recent advances in the theory of distributed control driven by network technologies. This view of complexity in highly organized technological and biological systems is fundamentally different from the dominant perspective in the mainstream sciences, which downplays function, constraints, and tradeoffs, and tends to minimize the role of organization and design

Investing for Reliability and Security in Transportation Networks

Alternative transportation investment policies can lead to very different network forms in the future. The desirability of a transportation network should be assessed not only by its economic efficiency but also by its reliability and security, because the cost of an incidental capacity loss in a road network can be massive. This research concerns how investment rules shape the hierarchical structure of roads and affect network fragility to natural disasters, congestion, and accidents and vulnerability to targeted attacks. A microscopic network growth model predicts the equilibrium road networks under two alternative policy scenarios: investment based on beneÞtÐcost analysis and investment based on bottleneck removal. A set of Monte Carlo simulation runs, in which a certain percentage of links was removed according to the type of network degradation analyzed, was carried out to evaluate the equilibrium road networks. It was found that a hierarchy existed in road networks for reasons such as economic efficiency but that an overly hierarchical structure had serious reliability problems. Throughout the equilibrating or evolution process, the grid network studied under beneÞtÐcost analysis had better efficiency performance, as well as error and attack tolerance. The paper demonstrates that reliability and security considerations can be integrated into the planning of transportation systems.