Description: Collective effects of link failures in linear flow networks

This title appears in the Scientific Report : 2020

Collective effects of link failures in linear flow networks

The reliable operation of supply networks is crucial for the proper functioning of many systems, ranging from biological organisms such as the human blood transport system or plant leaves to man-made systems such as power grids or gas pipelines. Whereas the failure of single transportation links has...

Personal Name(s):	Kaiser, Franz (Corresponding author)
	Strake, Julius / Witthaut, Dirk
Contributing Institute:	Systemforschung und Technologische Entwicklung; IEK-STE
Published in:	New journal of physics, 22 (2020) 1, S. 013053
Imprint:	[London] IOP73379 2020
DOI:	10.1088/1367-2630/ab6793
Document Type:	Journal Article
Research Program:	Kollektive Nichtlineare Dynamik Komplexer Stromnetze Helmholtz Young Investigators Group "Efficiency, Emergence and Economics of future supply networks" Energie System 2050 Assessment of Energy Systems – Addressing Issues of Energy Efficiency and Energy Security
Link:	Restricted Restricted OpenAccess OpenAccess
	Publikationsportal JuSER

Please use the identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/24155 in citations.
Please use the identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab6793 in citations.

The reliable operation of supply networks is crucial for the proper functioning of many systems, ranging from biological organisms such as the human blood transport system or plant leaves to man-made systems such as power grids or gas pipelines. Whereas the failure of single transportation links has been analysed thoroughly, the understanding of multiple failures is becoming increasingly important to prevent large scale damages. In this publication, we examine the collective nature of the simultaneous failure of several transportation links. In particular, we focus on the difference between single link failures and the collective failure of several links. We demonstrate that collective effects can amplify or attenuate the impacts of multiple link failures - and even lead to a reversal of flows on certain links. A simple classifier is introduced to predict the overall strength of collective effects that we demonstrate to be generally stronger if the failing links are close to each other. Finally, we establish an analogy between link failures in supply networks and dipole fields in discrete electrostatics by showing that multiple failures may be treated as superpositions of multiple electrical dipoles for lattice-like networks. Our results show that the simultaneous failure of multiple links may lead to unexpected effects that cannot be easily described using the theoretical framework for single link failures.