A multilayer network approach to vulnerability assessment for early-stage naval ship design programs

Abstract Vulnerability is a crucial facet of a naval ship's operational capability in a hostile environment. Naval combatants are among the most complex and densely packed distributed systems created today. These shipboard distributed systems are defined by their layout and componentry. Vulnerability assessments of these systems are therefore derived from failures of the integrated componentry layout due to hostile weapon impacts. In late-stage design programs, these vulnerability assessments are accomplished via detailed modeling and computationally expensive simulation. During early-stage design, this level of detailed modeling is unavailable, but integrated system failure analysis remains essential for thorough vulnerability assessment. The authors resolve this issue by utilizing an adaptable network-based approach to reduce the design fidelity needed for modeling and simulation. The approach allows for the development of a novel vulnerability assessment method for early-stage design. The approach is demonstrated through a representative naval case study.