The complexity of power grids has significantly increased in recent years, both in terms of the interconnection of more physical components and the deployment of more advanced monitoring and control systems. The grid has become critically dependent on the supporting communication infrastructure for control, monitoring and management, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. The objective of this project is to develop a system-wide vulnerability-reliability modeling and evaluation framework for modern power systems, taking into account various uncertainties from both physical and cyber domains. The approach is based on the integration of cyber vulnerability into the power grid reliability model and the development of new methodologies for efficiently calculating composite vulnerability-reliability indices.
Intellectual Merit: This project will develop analytical and statistical inference models for anomaly detection of potential malicious activities across control networks for an enhanced SCADA cybersecurity framework. Credible scenarios and the impact of their failures will be examined. Wind-farm management systems will be incorporated into the analysis of overall system vulnerability and reliability by accounting for various uncertainties in a cyber-physical environment. Methodologies to model and evaluate the overall reliability of cyber-physical power systems will be developed in a probabilistic manner. New reliability test systems, including current-carrying components and cyber components, will also be developed.
Broader Impacts: The project will generate critical knowledge for a broad spectrum of vulnerability-reliability issues in cyber-physical energy infrastructures. In turn, this project will yield far-reaching benefits for society and the nation as a whole by accelerating technological development, training a well-qualified workforce, and promoting participation of underrepresented groups through the integration of our research results into undergraduate and graduate power and energy courses and curriculum. The power and energy engineering community will benefit from broad dissemination of our research findings in leading journals, conferences, workshops, the Internet, short courses and tutorials.
