Vulnerability assessment of navigation station equipment network based on complex network theory

To deal with the impact of emergent events and keep air traffic control (ATC) equipment operation, planning and expansion research of ATC equipment has become an urgent problem. In this paper, the network model is constructed based on the route structure of navigation station in the ATC. Using maximal connected subset, network efficiency, node vulnerability, maintenance efficiency fusing flight flow, we evaluate the vulnerability of navigation station equipment from the perspective of network structure and network combined with physical condition. By analyzing the network in Southwest China, we find that random attacks lead to lowest vulnerability. Navigation station equipment network is a scale-free network. Node betweenness attacks cause the network efficiency changing rapidly. The vulnerability assessment value of the navigation station node integrated with the contribution of adjacent navigation station nodes follows the power-law distribution. Unreasonable distributions of equipment lead to some equipment redundancy. At the same time, we can also balance the distribution of network traffic load to improve reliability and sustainability of network. Considering the actual flow load, changing the flight flow can ensure the control of the working load of navigation station nodes in the limit load and reduce the vulnerability of navigation station equipment network. These methods provide a new theoretical basis for planning and expansion of navigation station equipment network, greatly reduce the impact of unexpected events and maintain the stable operation of civil aviation.