PI: Osman Yagan
Co-PI(s): Javad Mohammadi
University: Carnegie Mellon University
The objective of this project is to study the impact of communication disruptions on coordination and operation of Distributed Energy Resource commonly referred to as DERs (such as smart thermostats and storage systems). Majority of these DER are connected to communication networks and can be considered as Internet of Thing (IoT) devices. We aim at mitigating the aggregate impact of widespread communication disruptions on functionalities of IoT-connected DERs and power system operations.
Understanding the dependencies in these complex cyberphysical systems (IoT-connected DERs and communication networks) and mitigating the potential risks are critical for the successful development and evolution of smart infrastructure systems. Affordable energy resources are shaping the future of power networks and their resilient and secure operation is of prominent importance for maintaining reliability of electric power network.
This project aims to advance the state-of-the-art in modeling interdependence and analyzing and improving robustness through an inter-disciplinary approach combining theoretical analysis, empirical modeling, and optimization. Study on the vulnerability and robustness of interdependent systems has great implications for planning and emergency management of electric power network. To this end, we will leverage our campus wide energy IoT test-bed to model a network of IoT-connected DERs as virtual and physical agents in a multi-agent environment. Then, we will study impact of communication disruption on IoT functionalities and power grid operation.
We will also develop algorithms and technology to contain communication disruption across IoT networks. In order to further increase robustness, we will propose measures to increase resiliency of the IoT network. We will collaborate with our industry partner (Grid Fruit LLC) to test the performance of proposed methods using their aggregation platform.