High-Fidelity Cyber and Physical Simulation of Water Distribution Systems. I: Models and Data
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 149, Issue 5
Abstract
Numerical simulation models are a fundamental tool for planning and managing smart water networks—an evolution of water distribution systems in which physical assets are monitored and controlled by information and communication technologies. While simulation models allow us to understand the interactions between physical processes and abstract control strategies, they ignore key implementation aspects of distributed control systems, such as the required communication over digital links. As a result, the effects of anomalies and faults in the communication on the process control cannot be investigated with existing tools. In this work, we fill this gap by introducing DHALSIM (Digital HydrAuLic SIMulator), a numerical modelling platform combining EPANET-based process simulation with a network and host emulation environment, offering a high-fidelity representation of the processes occurring in the cyber domain. We illustrate DHALSIM’s key functionalities by implementing it on a benchmark water distribution system, present case studies of simulated network traffic, and demonstrate how anomalies in the behavior of the communication network affect the process data received by the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) server. In a companion paper, we further illustrate how DHALSIM enables research opportunities in the domain of cyber-physical security. The easily customizable and open source DHALSIM provides a “workbench” for studying smart water networks, developing digital twins, and designing a broad spectrum of engineering solutions.
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Data Availability Statement
DHALSIM is available at https://github.com/afmurillo/DHALSIM. Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available in a repository or online in accordance with founder data retention policies. The dataset is available at https://zenodo.org/record/6528732.
Acknowledgments
This research is supported by Singapore’s National Satellite Of Excellence, Design Science and Technology for Secure Critical Infrastructure (NSoE DeST-SCI) through the project “LEarning from Network and Process data to secure Water Distribution Systems (LENP-WDS)” (Award No. NSoE_DeST-SCI2019-0003) and by the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences of Delft University of Technology.
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Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 149 • Issue 5 • May 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: May 16, 2022
Accepted: Dec 3, 2022
Published online: Feb 22, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jul 22, 2023
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