Multi-Scale Modeling of Interdependent Critical Infrastructure System Performance During Hurricanes

水和电力网络等关键基础设施系统提供了支撑美国经济繁荣、安全和公共卫生的基本服务，这些复杂、相互依赖的系统在飓风期间容易发生故障。改进这些系统在飓风登陆后满足社会需求的能力建模，将大大提高我们管理这些系统失败风险的能力。然而，在飓风易发地区的关键基础设施系统的风险分析领域，存在概念和计算性质的基本研究需求。从概念上讲，我们还没有建模框架，可以准确预测飓风期间大规模相互依赖的基础设施系统的性能，这是准确风险评估和管理的必要起点。在计算方面，许多旨在以大都市地区为规模对基础设施性能进行建模的可用工具需要在大型计算机集群上长时间运行，这限制了它们对实际基础设施规划和管理的有用性。统计方法和计算的最新进展基于图形处理单元（？）显卡？）促进能够解决飓风易发地区相互依赖的基础设施系统目前风险分析方法中固有的概念和计算局限性的进展。该项目的重点是为相互依赖的基础设施系统开发准确的性能和风险建模方法，这些方法可供基础设施管理人员使用。虽然该项目的重点是水电耦合系统，但其进展将得到更广泛的应用，该项目将使相互依赖的基础设施系统的风险分析更加准确和快速，从而使非常有限的公共基础设施资金得到更有效的使用，并有助于在灾害期间更好地保护经济和公共健康。本项目开发的模型将可在配有现有高端图形卡的台式计算机上使用，大大提高基础设施管理人员在其现有计算机硬件上运行这些模型的能力。此外，该项目还将深入了解导致相互依赖的基础设施系统在飓风期间更具弹性的因素，帮助工程师和公用事业系统管理人员更好地了解如何加强其系统。在研究工作的同时，该项目将旨在吸引传统上在工程项目中代表性不足的学生，将工程作为一种职业。这将通过在多个教育级别开展外联活动来实现。

Critical infrastructure systems such as water and electric power networks provide essential services that underlie the economic prosperity, security, and public health of the U.S. These complex, interdependent systems are prone to failure during hurricanes. Improved modeling of the ability of these systems to meet the needs of society after a hurricane makes landfall would substantially improve our ability to manage the risk of these systems failing. However, there are fundamental research needs of both conceptual and computational natures in the area of risk analysis for critical infrastructure systems in hurricane-prone areas. Conceptually, we do not yet have modeling frameworks that allow for accurate prediction of the performance of large-scale interdependent infrastructure systems during hurricanes, a necessary starting point for accurate risk assessment and management. Computationally, many of the available tools that aim to model infrastructure performance at the scale of large metropolitan areas require long run times on large computer clusters, limiting their usefulness for practical infrastructure planning and management. Recent advances in both statistical methods and computing based on graphical processing units (?graphics cards?) enable advances that can address both the conceptual and computational limitations inherent in current approaches for risk analysis for interdependent infrastructure systems in hurricane-prone areas. The focus of this project is on developing methods for accurate performance and risk modeling for interdependent infrastructure systems, methods that are practical for infrastructure managers to use. While the focus of this project is on coupled water and power systems, the advances will have application much more broadly.This project will enable significantly more accurate and rapid risk analysis for interdependent infrastructure systems, allowing highly limited public infrastructure funds to be spent more efficiently and helping to better protect economic and public health during disasters. The models developed in this project will be practical for use on desktop computers with existing higher-end graphics cards, greatly enhancing the ability of infrastructure managers to run these models on their existing computer hardware. In addition, this project will yield insights into the factors that lead interdependent infrastructure systems to be more resilient during a hurricane, helping engineers and utility system managers better understand how to strengthen their systems. In parallel with the research efforts, this project will aim to interest students traditionally underrepresented in engineering programs in pursuing engineering as a career. This will be done through outreach at multiple educational levels.