Date of Award

3-26-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Operational Sciences

First Advisor

Sarah G. Nurre, PhD.

Abstract

Technology has dramatically changed the way the military has disseminated information over the last fifty years. The Air Force has adapted to the change by operating a network with various ways to disseminate information. The Air Operating Center (AOC) is a large contributor to disseminating information in the Air Force. When the standard mode of sending information is disrupted, the AOC seeks both alternative ways available to send information and long term approaches to decrease vulnerability of its standard procedures. In this thesis, we seek to identify and quantify the most vital components within a multi-mode communications network via a combination of a set-based efficiency and set-based cost efficiency measures that utilize the all pairs shortest path (APSP) problem and minimum cost flow (MCF) problem. We capture the phenomenon that network components must work together to provide flow by examining how the network performs when sets of arcs are disrupted. We run 125 different computational experiments examining varying degrees of damage experienced by the network. From these results, we deduce insights into the characteristics of the most vital arcs in a multi-mode communication network which can inform future fortification decisions.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENS-MS-15-M-131

DTIC Accession Number

ADA623044

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