The effect of increasing the algebraic connectivity on cascading failures in power grid networks

Algebraic connectivity is a global criterion for assessing network resistance to failures. Algebraic connectivity is a monotone measure against the number of links added to a given network to enhance its robustness. In this paper, we show the effect of link addition on the size of cascading failures. Accordingly, we consider two different strategies for step-by-step link addition: adding links to the network’s core and adding links to the whole network. We choose new links using simulated annealing to maximize the algebraic connectivity. Simulation results suggest that although the core of the network has a significant impact on network robustness, adding links to the core did not significantly affect cascading failures. Conversely, we find that adding links to the whole network make the network robust against cascading failures.