Reliability Assessment of Cyber–Physical Distribution Systems Considering Cyber Disturbances

Abstract

With the development of communication technology, traditional distribution networks have gradually developed into cyber–physical systems (CPSs), from which the cyber system provides more protection for the grid and brings new security threat–cyber disturbances. Current research cannot scientifically measure the impact of cyber disturbances on the system and lacks reliability indices for a comprehensive quantitative assessment of CPS reliability from the perspective of cyber–physical fusion. If the impact of information disturbances on system reliability is not assessed accurately, it will not be possible to provide a scientific and reasonable decision basis for system planning and operation. Therefore, a set of reliability assessment methods and indices for distribution network CPSs considering cyber disturbances is proposed. Firstly, a reliability modeling method combining fault tree and Petri net is proposed to model the reliability of a distribution network CPS, which can improve the efficiency and accuracy of the modeling. Secondly, the system state is divided into two categories: normal operation state and cyberattack state. Then, generalized reliability indices considering cyber disturbances for distribution network CPSs are defined. Finally, through the tests on the modified IEEE RBTS BUS2 distribution network CPS, an analysis of the effects of information component failures, cyberattacks, and access network structures on system reliability is conducted in this paper to verify the efficiency of the proposed method and the rationality of the newly defined reliability indices.