Modeling the Vulnerability of Waterway Networks

Abstract

In some areas, rivers and canals interweave into a network, making inland waterway transportation feasible. Significant losses will occur if a vulnerable waterway (where vulnerability is defined in terms of susceptibility to interference and difficulty in restoring the initial state) that is vital to a network is blocked. System vulnerabilities combined with hazard factors trigger disasters; therefore, reducing the vulnerability of a network system is a useful means of reducing major losses. In this paper, a model to calculate vulnerability based on inherent characteristics of waterways such as channel connectivity, transportation efficiency, and economic cost is developed. Three influence factors—importance, efficiency contribution, and loss—are used to build a vulnerability assessment model in which the relative vulnerabilities of various waterways can be assessed and the most vulnerable waterway can be found. Using this model, a simple waterway network is tested to identify vulnerable waterways.