Evaluating the Scalability and Combinatorial Effectiveness of Design‐for‐Resilience Heuristics

Abstract

AbstractThis study investigates the scalability of biologically inspired design‐for‐resilience heuristics in System of Systems (SoS) of varying sizes, simulating SoS with ten, twenty, and thirty constituent systems. We build upon previous research that identified thirteen design heuristics for SoS resilience based on Ecological Network Analysis (a subset of graph theory). We both extend their application to larger network sizes and combine them to enhance efficiency. Our analysis validates the application of design heuristics for random networks to evaluate the effectiveness of individual and combined design heuristics in network resilience compared to random network modifications. The outcomes provide insights into the scalability and efficiency of these heuristics, revealing the potential for systematic SoS design and resilience improvement. Key contributions of this research include the validation of the scalability of bio‐inspired resilience metrics and the testing of nine new combined design heuristics for SoS. These contributions provide a tool for decision‐makers seeking to select resilient SoS architectures. The findings also pave the way for future research into broader applications beyond ecological networks and further exploration of the relationship between ecological robustness and resilience.