CSR–EHS: Integrating Decentralized Control and Real-Time Scheduling for Networked Dynamical Systems

A networked dynamical system consists of numerous loosely coupled systems. These networked systems are found throughout our national infrastructure in the guise of our electrical power grid and transportation networks. Interruptions in the smooth operation of these networks can disrupt the lives of millions of users. Increased demand due to demographic shifts and greater regulatory burdens have made it more difficult to operate these networks in a cost effective manner. Tighter coupling between the constituent subsystems in the network can make it easier for pointwise disturbances to blossom into system wide outages. Good examples of such failures appear frequently in our electrical power grid. There is, therefore, a compelling national need to devise more robust and cost effective methods for controlling such networked systems.