Assessing vulnerabilities in transport networks: a graph-theoretic approach

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14295/transportes.v29i1.2250

Keywords:

Network Vulnerability, Resilience, Complex Networks

Abstract

The design and maintenance of sustainable and resilient transport systems depend on the identification of possible vulnerabilities before crises occur so that infrastructure and strategies of action are effectively developed for times of crisis. However, given the complexity of transport systems, the proposed methods for assessing vulnerabilities are difficult to implement and require data inaccessible to most Brazilian municipalities. Given this scenario, and intending to simplify the preliminary analysis of a system in the search for vulnerabilities, the objective of this paper is to present the centrality measure from graph theory that best represents the local vulnerability of inland transport networks in Brazilian cities. The method proposed in the study was the systematic degradation of the network measuring the decay in continuity on the system, defined as the proportion of valid paths that remain in the network after the removal of a certain number of roads. The results pointed out the betweenness centrality is the metric that best reflects vulnerability since the attack strategy that progressively removes the roads with greater betweenness centrality presents a faster decay of continuity. With this result, we expect to facilitate the detection of vulnerabilities in transport systems and to guide the creation of more resilient transport systems.

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Author Biographies

André Borgato Morelli, University of São Paulo, São Paulo – Brazil

University of São Paulo - Department of Transportation Engineering, São Carlos School of Engineering 

André Luiz Cunha, University of São Paulo, São Paulo – Brazil

University of São Paulo - Department of Transportation Engineering, São Carlos School of Engineering 

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Published

2021-04-30 — Updated on 2021-05-17

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How to Cite

Morelli, A. B., & Cunha, A. L. (2021). Assessing vulnerabilities in transport networks: a graph-theoretic approach. Transportes, 29(1), 161–172. https://doi.org/10.14295/transportes.v29i1.2250 (Original work published April 30, 2021)

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 1 (2021)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2021 André Borgato Morelli, Andre Luiz Cunha

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