Simulation and analysis of infrastructure interdependencies using a Petri net simulator in a geographical information system

Society relies greatly upon infrastructure networks that are highly interconnected and mutually dependent in complex ways. Simulation and modeling assist in dealing with the complexity of infrastructure networks, especially in the effective response and management of resources for rescue, recovery, and restoration. This paper introduces the Petri net into a geographical information system to develop the GeoPetri Net system, which can be used to simulate the complex geographical relationships among places and nodes. Unlike the ordinary Petri net, the GeoPetri Net deals with places and nodes with geographical locations and the geographical relationships between these nodes and records the statuses of nodes to produce simulated events. A case study involving an education layer with 15 nodes (schools) and a transportation layer with 25 node lines (streets) in a geographical information system is presented to substantiate the above conceptual arguments.