Load-based cascading failure analysis in finite Erdös-Rényi random networks

Abstract

Large-scale cascading failures could be triggered by very few initial failures, which lead to serious damages in complex networks. This paper presents a load-based cascade model to analyze the vulnerability of a complex system such as the power grid under a random single-node attack, where the Erdös-Renyi (ER) random graph is used as the network model since it captures the exponential degree distribution present in power grids. Based on a step-by-step analysis, we derive an estimate for the average failure ratio at each step, which provides a framework to track the impacts of cascading failures. Such a result is critical in designing robust and resilient complex networks.