Modeling and Analysis of Coupling Relations and Cascading Failures in a Cyber-Physical-Social System

Lei Chen; Rongjun Xiao; Dong Yue; Chunxia Dou; Hui Ge; Shengquan Li

doi:10.1109/JAS.2025.125840

Volume 13 Issue 10

Oct. 2026

IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica

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Article Navigation > IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica > 2026 > 13(10): 2258-2268

L. Chen, R. Xiao, D. Yue, C. Dou, H. Ge, and S. Li, “Modeling and analysis of coupling relations and cascading failures in a cyber-physical-social system,” IEEE/CAA J. Autom. Sinica, vol. 13, no. 10, pp. 2258–2268, Oct. 2026. doi: 10.1109/JAS.2025.125840

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L. Chen, R. Xiao, D. Yue, C. Dou, H. Ge, and S. Li, “Modeling and analysis of coupling relations and cascading failures in a cyber-physical-social system,” IEEE/CAA J. Autom. Sinica, vol. 13, no. 10, pp. 2258–2268, Oct. 2026. doi: 10.1109/JAS.2025.125840

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Modeling and Analysis of Coupling Relations and Cascading Failures in a Cyber-Physical-Social System

doi: 10.1109/JAS.2025.125840

Funds: This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62403410, 62192753, 62233010, 52077106)

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Author Bio:
Lei Chen (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in information acquisition and control from College of Automation & College of Artificial Intelligence, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications in 2021. He is currently a Lecturer with the College of Electrical, Energy and Power Engineering, Yangzhou University. His research interests include systems modeling, vulnerability analysis, defense protection, and application complex networks into research on cyber-physical power systems

Rongjun Xiao received the B.E. degree in electrical engineering and automatization from Hefei Normal University in 2024. He is currently a master student in electric engineering at the College of Electrical Energy and Power Engineering, Yangzhou University. His main research interest is propagation mechanism of cascading failure in cyber-physical power systems

Dong Yue (Fellow, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in automatic control from the South China University of Technology in 1995. He is currently a Professor and the Dean of the Institute of Advanced Technology for Carbon Neutrality, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and also a Changjiang Professor with the Department of Control Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. His current research interests include analysis and synthesis of networked control systems, multiagent systems, optimal control of power systems, and Internet of Things.Dr. Yue has published over 100 papers in international journals, domestic journals, and international conferences. He is currently an Associate Editor of the IEEE Control Systems Society Conference Editorial Board, the IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, and the International Journal of Systems Science

Chunxia Dou (Fellow, IEEE) received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in automation from Northeast Heavy Machinery Institute, in 1989 and 1994, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Yanshan University in 2005. In 2010, she joined the Department of Engineering, Peking University, where she was a Postdoctoral Fellow for two years. From 2005 to 2019, she was a Professor with the School of Electrical Engineering, Yanshan University. Since 2019, she has been a Professor with the Institute of Advanced Technology for Carbon Neutrality, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications. Her current research interests include MAS-based control, event-triggered hybrid control, distributed coordinated control, multimode switching control, and their applications in power systems and smart grid

Hui Ge (Member, IEEE) received the B.S. degree in mechatronics engineering and automation and the M.S. degree in theory and new technology of electrical engineering from Nanjing Normal University in 2006 and 2009, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in information acquisition and control from the Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications in 2018. He is currently an Associate Professor with the Institute of Advanced Technology for Carbon Neutrality, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications. His research interests include analysis and synthesis of networked control systems, security control of cyber-physical power system, modeling of digital twin modeling method, and key technology of active distribution network system

Shengquan Li (Senior Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in mechatronics from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2012. From September 2014 to March 2015, he was a Research Assistant with the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, The University of Sheffield, UK. Since 2012, he has been with Yangzhou University, where he is currently an Associate Professor and a Doctoral Supervisor. His current research interests include disturbance estimation theories and their applications to renewable energy systems and piezoelectric structural vibration suppression. He has served on the Technical Program Committee for several international conferences, including the IEEE CYBER 2018 and ICONIP2018
Corresponding author: Lei Chen, e-mail: L.Chen@yzu.edu.cn; Dong Yue, e-mail: yued@njupt.edu.cn
Received Date: 2025-03-04
Revised Date: 2025-04-21
Accepted Date: 2025-08-06

Abstract

Abstract

Distributed energy sources and the electricity market enable traditional power consumers to become prosumers, who can sell superfluous energy to the electricity market if generation exceeds consumption. The participation of prosumers improves the economics and reliability of the power system, but also results in uncertainty and other social issues. In this paper, we model and analyze the coupling relations and cascading failures in a cyber-physical-social system. First, the framework structure of a cyber-physical-social system is proposed, along with the coupling relations between the cyber, physical and social layers. Second, dynamic models for communication networks handling data uploads, and physical power grid managing flow distribution are established. The relation network involving information contagion is also defined. Then, the evolution and propagation mechanism of cascading failures within and across the cyber, physical and social layers are detailed. Numerical simulations then analyze the effect on system caused by spontaneous evolution in the social layer and initial failure in the cyber/physical layer.
- Cascading failure,
- coupling relation,
- cyber-physical-social system,
- dynamic model,
- prosumer

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References(39)

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Modeling and Analysis of Coupling Relations and Cascading Failures in a Cyber-Physical-Social System

doi: 10.1109/JAS.2025.125840

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