2026
Other
Restricted
Report on the results achieved by the project in the application of the proposed modeling and evaluation methods to the considered case studies
Basile Davide, Ter Beek Maurice, Carnevali Laura, Chiaradonna Silvano, Di Giandomenico Felicita, Fantechi Alessandro, Gori Gloria, Zecchi Jacopo
ADVENTURE (ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms) aims at developing innovative solutions for the evaluation of complex railway systems. Using Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) methods and multi-paradigm or multi-formalism approaches to help create bridges between different abstraction levels, the project focuses on the following objectives: 1) qualitative evaluation of safety of complex distributed railway systems, by means of diverse techniques such as compositional model checking, synthesis of specifications given as behavioral interfaces, and tool support for relating specifications with implementations; 2) quantitative evaluation of dependability attributes in spite of failures, in particular considering communication failures, through quantitative modeling and evaluation of the timed failure logic of the system; 3) quantitative evaluation of trade-offs between energy efficiency and availability/performance, considering different smart policies for energy savings and taking into account failures, criticalities, and priorities of the system under analysis. The developed solutions have been experimented and validated by their application to different case studies, that are considered as representative of the innovation trends in railways, namely decentralized interlocking systems, standard interfaces and smart deicing systems. This deliverable reports the results of the application of the techniques that have been identified in the previous work [1] to the case studies. Specifically, Chapter 2 discusses the application of compositional methods for interlocking verification and the application of interfaces for testing the adequacy of the abstraction level; Chapter 3 addresses the application of methods for the quantitative evaluation of dependability to railway case studies; and Chapter 4 illustrates the application of methods for the quantitative evaluation of trade-offs between dependability properties and energy consumption to railway switch heater anti-icing systems.Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms
Basile Davide, Ter Beek Maurice, Carnevali Laura, Chiaradonna Silvano, Di Giandomenico Felicita, Fantechi Alessandro, Gori Gloria, Zecchi Jacopo
ADVENTURE (ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms) aims at developing innovative solutions for the evaluation of complex railway systems. Using Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) methods and multi-paradigm or multi-formalism approaches to help create bridges between different abstraction levels, the project focuses on the following objectives: 1) qualitative evaluation of safety of complex distributed railway systems, by means of diverse techniques such as compositional model checking, synthesis of specifications given as behavioral interfaces, and tool support for relating specifications with implementations; 2) quantitative evaluation of dependability attributes in spite of failures, in particular considering communication failures, through quantitative modeling and evaluation of the timed failure logic of the system; 3) quantitative evaluation of trade-offs between energy efficiency and availability/performance, considering different smart policies for energy savings and taking into account failures, criticalities, and priorities of the system under analysis. The developed solutions have been experimented and validated by their application to different case studies, that are considered as representative of the innovation trends in railways, namely decentralized interlocking systems, standard interfaces and smart deicing systems. This deliverable reports the results of the application of the techniques that have been identified in the previous work [1] to the case studies. Specifically, Chapter 2 discusses the application of compositional methods for interlocking verification and the application of interfaces for testing the adequacy of the abstraction level; Chapter 3 addresses the application of methods for the quantitative evaluation of dependability to railway case studies; and Chapter 4 illustrates the application of methods for the quantitative evaluation of trade-offs between dependability properties and energy consumption to railway switch heater anti-icing systems.Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms
2026
Contribution to book
Open Access
Quantitative dependability evaluation of train control systems: selected case studies
Carnevali Laura, Chiaradonna Silvano, Di Giandomenico Felicita, Gori Gloria, Papini Marco, Vicario Enrico
Groundbreaking technological innovations for train distancing and localization have the potential to radically boost dependability of Train Control Systems (TCSs), while actually posing notable challenges on dependability evaluation due to the uncertainty introduced on TCS vital parameters such as train position and speed. This paper focuses on applications of stochastic modeling and analysis for dependability evaluation of TCSs in presence of uncertainty, summarizing four representative case studies developed by the authors in previous publications. Without intent of completeness, this paper aims at showing the potential of quantitative evaluation methods in: i) representing and analyzing the variability of TCS parameters; ii) determining appropriate trade-offs between contrasting but equally relevant dependability-related attributes; iii) providing added value in synthesizing stochastic parameters from observed data; and, iv) supporting the definition of compositional solution methods for the analysis of complex TCSs. Along with a fairly extensive literature, this paper demonstrates the relevance and topicality of dependability evaluation of TCSs with uncertainty on vital parameters.Source: LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 16470, pp. 69-91
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-12484-5_5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-12484-5_5
Metrics:
Carnevali Laura, Chiaradonna Silvano, Di Giandomenico Felicita, Gori Gloria, Papini Marco, Vicario Enrico
Groundbreaking technological innovations for train distancing and localization have the potential to radically boost dependability of Train Control Systems (TCSs), while actually posing notable challenges on dependability evaluation due to the uncertainty introduced on TCS vital parameters such as train position and speed. This paper focuses on applications of stochastic modeling and analysis for dependability evaluation of TCSs in presence of uncertainty, summarizing four representative case studies developed by the authors in previous publications. Without intent of completeness, this paper aims at showing the potential of quantitative evaluation methods in: i) representing and analyzing the variability of TCS parameters; ii) determining appropriate trade-offs between contrasting but equally relevant dependability-related attributes; iii) providing added value in synthesizing stochastic parameters from observed data; and, iv) supporting the definition of compositional solution methods for the analysis of complex TCSs. Along with a fairly extensive literature, this paper demonstrates the relevance and topicality of dependability evaluation of TCSs with uncertainty on vital parameters.Source: LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 16470, pp. 69-91
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-12484-5_5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-12484-5_5
Metrics:
See at:
Flore (Florence Research Repository) 
| Flore (Florence Research Repository) | doi.org 
| CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2026
Journal article
Open Access
Advanced definition and analysis of anti-icing methods to balance energy usage and dependability in railways
Chiaradonna Silvano, Di Giandomenico Felicita, Masetti Giulio
Aiming at promoting intelligent railway systems, this paper proposes advancements in the efficient management of heater-based anti-icing systems for railroad switches. The goal is to reduce energy consumption while ensuring reliable performance. The main novel contributions comprise both a richer set of software policies for an efficient anti-icing system management by looking at the overall lifetime of the anti-icing system, where normal operating conditions alternate to periods where failures may be experienced, and a more realistic representation of weather conditions by removing some simplifying assumptions. An advanced stochastic modeling framework supports the novel extensions, and allows for the assessment and comparison of a comprehensive range of heating policies in terms of energy and dependability-related indicators, as demonstrated by an extensive analysis campaign performed in a variety of weather scenarios. Given its generality, both in terms of weather profiles and weather-based switch heating policies (in principle, even beyond those developed in the paper) that it can manage, the proposed framework positions itself as a powerful support for railway companies in selecting policies that achieve an appropriate balance between energy consumption and dependability.Source: IEEE OPEN JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, vol. 7, pp. 847-861
DOI: 10.1109/ojits.2026.3673471
DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2025/014
Metrics:
Chiaradonna Silvano, Di Giandomenico Felicita, Masetti Giulio
Aiming at promoting intelligent railway systems, this paper proposes advancements in the efficient management of heater-based anti-icing systems for railroad switches. The goal is to reduce energy consumption while ensuring reliable performance. The main novel contributions comprise both a richer set of software policies for an efficient anti-icing system management by looking at the overall lifetime of the anti-icing system, where normal operating conditions alternate to periods where failures may be experienced, and a more realistic representation of weather conditions by removing some simplifying assumptions. An advanced stochastic modeling framework supports the novel extensions, and allows for the assessment and comparison of a comprehensive range of heating policies in terms of energy and dependability-related indicators, as demonstrated by an extensive analysis campaign performed in a variety of weather scenarios. Given its generality, both in terms of weather profiles and weather-based switch heating policies (in principle, even beyond those developed in the paper) that it can manage, the proposed framework positions itself as a powerful support for railway companies in selecting policies that achieve an appropriate balance between energy consumption and dependability.Source: IEEE OPEN JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, vol. 7, pp. 847-861
DOI: 10.1109/ojits.2026.3673471
DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2025/014
Metrics:
See at:
IEEE Open Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems | CNR IRIS | ieeexplore.ieee.org | mEDRA | CNR IRIS
2025
Other
Restricted
CN MOST SP4 D1.3.5: Report on assessed methods and models for resilient and sustainable railway infrastructures
D’acierno L., De Matteis L., Basile D., Ter Beek M., Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Gregori M., Furini F, D’alfonso T, Matteucci G., Barbaro M., Collina A., Team Of Ferrovie Nord, Team Of Almaviva
This deliverable contains a description of the technical work carried out in Task 1.3 (Resilient and sustainable railway infrastructure) of WP1 (Increase in capacity of railway transport) within Spoke 4 (Rail Transport) of the Italian National Centre for Sustainable Mobility (CN-MOST). In particular, the document presents the work carried out by UNINA, CNR, UNIROMA1, POLIMI, FN and ALMAVIVA concerning the assessed methods and models for resilient and sustainable railway infrastructures.Project(s): CN MOST (National Sustainable Mobility Centre) Spoke 4: Rail Transportation
D’acierno L., De Matteis L., Basile D., Ter Beek M., Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Gregori M., Furini F, D’alfonso T, Matteucci G., Barbaro M., Collina A., Team Of Ferrovie Nord, Team Of Almaviva
This deliverable contains a description of the technical work carried out in Task 1.3 (Resilient and sustainable railway infrastructure) of WP1 (Increase in capacity of railway transport) within Spoke 4 (Rail Transport) of the Italian National Centre for Sustainable Mobility (CN-MOST). In particular, the document presents the work carried out by UNINA, CNR, UNIROMA1, POLIMI, FN and ALMAVIVA concerning the assessed methods and models for resilient and sustainable railway infrastructures.Project(s): CN MOST (National Sustainable Mobility Centre) Spoke 4: Rail Transportation
2025
Other
Restricted
Advanced definition and analysis of anti-icing methods to balance energy usage and dependability in railways
Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Masetti G.
Rail transport is increasingly favored for its safety and reliability, but severe weather conditions, such as snow and ice, pose significant challenges, especially to railroad switches, which are vital for safe train routing since their failure can lead to derailments or collisions. Aiming at promoting intelligent railway systems, this paper proposes advancements in the efficient management of heater-based anti-icing systems for railroad switches. The goal is to reduce energy consumption while ensuring reliable performance. Main novel contributions comprise both a richer set of software policies for an efficient anti-icing system management An advanced modeling framework supports the novel extensions, and the analysis results are useful for railway companies in selecting policies that achieve an appropriate balance of energy consumption and dependability.DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2025/014
Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms, Sustainable Mobility National Research Center
Metrics:
Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Masetti G.
Rail transport is increasingly favored for its safety and reliability, but severe weather conditions, such as snow and ice, pose significant challenges, especially to railroad switches, which are vital for safe train routing since their failure can lead to derailments or collisions. Aiming at promoting intelligent railway systems, this paper proposes advancements in the efficient management of heater-based anti-icing systems for railroad switches. The goal is to reduce energy consumption while ensuring reliable performance. Main novel contributions comprise both a richer set of software policies for an efficient anti-icing system management An advanced modeling framework supports the novel extensions, and the analysis results are useful for railway companies in selecting policies that achieve an appropriate balance of energy consumption and dependability.DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2025/014
Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms, Sustainable Mobility National Research Center
Metrics:
2025
Other
Restricted
Dependability modeling and evaluation of IPS architectures in the railway sector
Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Masetti G.
Rail transport is increasingly preferred for its safety and reliability, which can be achieved through a variety of advanced design solutions and technological supports. Among them, ensuring a continuous power supply is crucial for the reliable execution of energy-dependent critical operations. Inspired by the Italian railway infrastructure, here the focus is on \gls{ips}systems that support critical functionalities, such as the signaling system that regulates railway traffic movement. Fault-tolerant \gls{ips} designs are implemented to address unforeseen fault events at the \gls{ips} level, which could lead to safety or availability issues. Building on previous work, this paper presents a refined stochastic model-based evaluation framework to aid in comparing various \gls{ips} redundant architectures with respect to dependability characteristics, mainly focusing on reliability and availability metrics. Major extensions pertain to i) the modeling of two additional \gls{ips} architectures; ii) the integration of models to analyze the \gls{ips} behavior under normal and critical conditions; iii) the consideration and modeling of battery failures; iv) extension of the analysis campaign to account for the new additions. A designer can effectively utilize the findings from this analysis to determine the most appropriate \gls{ips} organization that meets dependability criteria while also considering potential energy consumption savings.DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2025/013
Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms, Sustainable Mobility National Research Center
Metrics:
Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Masetti G.
Rail transport is increasingly preferred for its safety and reliability, which can be achieved through a variety of advanced design solutions and technological supports. Among them, ensuring a continuous power supply is crucial for the reliable execution of energy-dependent critical operations. Inspired by the Italian railway infrastructure, here the focus is on \gls{ips}systems that support critical functionalities, such as the signaling system that regulates railway traffic movement. Fault-tolerant \gls{ips} designs are implemented to address unforeseen fault events at the \gls{ips} level, which could lead to safety or availability issues. Building on previous work, this paper presents a refined stochastic model-based evaluation framework to aid in comparing various \gls{ips} redundant architectures with respect to dependability characteristics, mainly focusing on reliability and availability metrics. Major extensions pertain to i) the modeling of two additional \gls{ips} architectures; ii) the integration of models to analyze the \gls{ips} behavior under normal and critical conditions; iii) the consideration and modeling of battery failures; iv) extension of the analysis campaign to account for the new additions. A designer can effectively utilize the findings from this analysis to determine the most appropriate \gls{ips} organization that meets dependability criteria while also considering potential energy consumption savings.DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2025/013
Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms, Sustainable Mobility National Research Center
Metrics:
2025
Journal article
Open Access
Stochastic modeling of intrusion tolerant systems based on redundancy and diversity
Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Masetti G.
To cope with unforeseen attacks to software systems in critical application domains, redundancy-based ITSs schemes are among popular countermeasures to deploy. Designing the adequate ITS for the stated security requirements calls for stochastic analysis supports, able to assess the impact of variety of attack patterns on different ITS configurations. As contribution to this purpose, a stochastic model for ITS is proposed, whose novel aspects are the ability to account for both camouflaging components and for correlation aspects between the security failures affecting the diverse implementations of the software cyber protections adopted in the ITS. Extensive analyses are conducted to show the applicability of the model; the obtained results allow to understand the limits and strengths of selected ITS configurations when subject to attacks occurring in unfavorable conditions for the defender.Source: IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTERS, vol. 74 (issue 12), pp. 4123-4137
DOI: 10.1109/tc.2025.3606189
Metrics:
Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Masetti G.
To cope with unforeseen attacks to software systems in critical application domains, redundancy-based ITSs schemes are among popular countermeasures to deploy. Designing the adequate ITS for the stated security requirements calls for stochastic analysis supports, able to assess the impact of variety of attack patterns on different ITS configurations. As contribution to this purpose, a stochastic model for ITS is proposed, whose novel aspects are the ability to account for both camouflaging components and for correlation aspects between the security failures affecting the diverse implementations of the software cyber protections adopted in the ITS. Extensive analyses are conducted to show the applicability of the model; the obtained results allow to understand the limits and strengths of selected ITS configurations when subject to attacks occurring in unfavorable conditions for the defender.Source: IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTERS, vol. 74 (issue 12), pp. 4123-4137
DOI: 10.1109/tc.2025.3606189
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | ieeexplore.ieee.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2025
Other
Restricted
PRIN PNRR Adventure D2: Report on the definition of methods for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of KPIs of railway systems
Basile D., Ter Beek M., Carnevali L., Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Fantechi A., Gori G.
ADVENTURE (ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms) aims at developing innovative solutions for the evaluation of complex railway systems. Using Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) methods and multi-paradigm or multi-formalism approaches to help create bridges between different abstraction levels, the project focuses on the following objectives: 1) qualitative evaluation of safety of complex distributed railway systems, by means of diverse techniques such as compositional model checking, synthesis of specifications given as behavioral interfaces, and tool support for relating specifications with implementations; 2) quantitative evaluation of dependability attributes in spite of failures, in particular considering communication failures, through quantitative modeling and evaluation of the timed failure logic of the system; 3) quantitative evaluation of trade-offs between energy efficiency and availability/performance, considering different smart policies of energy saving and taking into account failures, criticalities, and priorities of the system under analysis. The developed solutions are going to be experimented and validated by their application to different case studies, that are considered as representative of the innovation trends in railways, namely decentralized interlocking systems, standard interfaces and smart deicing systems. This deliverable details the techniques that have been considered and the advancements.Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms
Basile D., Ter Beek M., Carnevali L., Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Fantechi A., Gori G.
ADVENTURE (ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms) aims at developing innovative solutions for the evaluation of complex railway systems. Using Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) methods and multi-paradigm or multi-formalism approaches to help create bridges between different abstraction levels, the project focuses on the following objectives: 1) qualitative evaluation of safety of complex distributed railway systems, by means of diverse techniques such as compositional model checking, synthesis of specifications given as behavioral interfaces, and tool support for relating specifications with implementations; 2) quantitative evaluation of dependability attributes in spite of failures, in particular considering communication failures, through quantitative modeling and evaluation of the timed failure logic of the system; 3) quantitative evaluation of trade-offs between energy efficiency and availability/performance, considering different smart policies of energy saving and taking into account failures, criticalities, and priorities of the system under analysis. The developed solutions are going to be experimented and validated by their application to different case studies, that are considered as representative of the innovation trends in railways, namely decentralized interlocking systems, standard interfaces and smart deicing systems. This deliverable details the techniques that have been considered and the advancements.Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms
2024
Other
Restricted
CN MOST SP4 D1.3.1: Report on formal models
Basile D., Ter Beek M., Di Giandomenico F., Ferrari A., Mazzanti F., Chiaradonna S., Team Of Intesa San Paolo
In this deliverable, formal methods, model-based development, quantitative model-based analysis and their application to railway systems are discussed. Two applications are considered of, respectively, formal verification and quantitative model-based analysis: the formalization of railway interfaces, specifically focusing on the interface between two components of the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS), and an uninterruptible power supply system.Project(s): CN MOST (National Sustainable Mobility Centre) Spoke 4: Rail Transportation
Basile D., Ter Beek M., Di Giandomenico F., Ferrari A., Mazzanti F., Chiaradonna S., Team Of Intesa San Paolo
In this deliverable, formal methods, model-based development, quantitative model-based analysis and their application to railway systems are discussed. Two applications are considered of, respectively, formal verification and quantitative model-based analysis: the formalization of railway interfaces, specifically focusing on the interface between two components of the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS), and an uninterruptible power supply system.Project(s): CN MOST (National Sustainable Mobility Centre) Spoke 4: Rail Transportation
2024
Other
Restricted
PRIN PNRR Adventure D1.1 - Report on the definition of the case studies
Basile D., Ter Beek M., Carnevali L., Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Fantechi A., Gori G.
ADVENTURE (ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms) aims at developing innovative solutions for the evaluation of complex railway systems. Using Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) methods and multi-paradigm or multi-formalism approaches to help create bridges between different abstraction levels, the project focuses on the following objectives: 1) qualitative evaluation of safety of complex distributed railway systems, by means of diverse techniques such as compositional model checking, synthesis of specifications given as behavioral interfaces, and tool support for relating specifications with implementations; 2) quantitative evaluation of dependability attributes in spite of failures, in particular considering communication failures, through quantitative modeling and evaluation of the timed failure logic of the system; 3) quantitative evaluation of trade-offs between energy efficiency and availability/performance, considering different smart policies of energy saving and taking into account failures, criticalities, and priorities of the system under analysis. The developed solutions are going to be experimented and validated by their application to different case studies, that are considered as representative of the innovation trends in railways, namely decentralized interlocking systems, standard interfaces and smart deicing systems. A common trait of these case studies is that they can be considered as distributed Cyber-Physical Systems that ensure safe transit of trains along a station route. In all cases, the route is allocated if specific conditions are verified on a set of elements lying along the route, with also an eye to the energy consumption in case the involved equipment are characterized by energy-intensive operation. A failure of one of these elements generally means that the itinerary is unavailable: in this case, the availability and thus the overall transit capacity of the station decreases as well, with the possible occurrence of single points of failure blocking all operations. Modeling such a complex system for the purpose of quantitative assessment of availability suffers from the problem of state-space explosion. It is therefore desired to: (a)~identify a model-based compositional method for analyzing such a complex network by combining results of the analysis of its elements, with the aim to perform network analysis in linear time with respect to the number of elements; the approach will be tried on some topological instances of the two case studies; (b)~generalize the identified approach so that it can be automatically instantiated on different network topologies, both for ADVENTURE case studies and for networks defining other distributed systems that have similar characteristics or similar dependability requirements.Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms
Basile D., Ter Beek M., Carnevali L., Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Fantechi A., Gori G.
ADVENTURE (ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms) aims at developing innovative solutions for the evaluation of complex railway systems. Using Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) methods and multi-paradigm or multi-formalism approaches to help create bridges between different abstraction levels, the project focuses on the following objectives: 1) qualitative evaluation of safety of complex distributed railway systems, by means of diverse techniques such as compositional model checking, synthesis of specifications given as behavioral interfaces, and tool support for relating specifications with implementations; 2) quantitative evaluation of dependability attributes in spite of failures, in particular considering communication failures, through quantitative modeling and evaluation of the timed failure logic of the system; 3) quantitative evaluation of trade-offs between energy efficiency and availability/performance, considering different smart policies of energy saving and taking into account failures, criticalities, and priorities of the system under analysis. The developed solutions are going to be experimented and validated by their application to different case studies, that are considered as representative of the innovation trends in railways, namely decentralized interlocking systems, standard interfaces and smart deicing systems. A common trait of these case studies is that they can be considered as distributed Cyber-Physical Systems that ensure safe transit of trains along a station route. In all cases, the route is allocated if specific conditions are verified on a set of elements lying along the route, with also an eye to the energy consumption in case the involved equipment are characterized by energy-intensive operation. A failure of one of these elements generally means that the itinerary is unavailable: in this case, the availability and thus the overall transit capacity of the station decreases as well, with the possible occurrence of single points of failure blocking all operations. Modeling such a complex system for the purpose of quantitative assessment of availability suffers from the problem of state-space explosion. It is therefore desired to: (a)~identify a model-based compositional method for analyzing such a complex network by combining results of the analysis of its elements, with the aim to perform network analysis in linear time with respect to the number of elements; the approach will be tried on some topological instances of the two case studies; (b)~generalize the identified approach so that it can be automatically instantiated on different network topologies, both for ADVENTURE case studies and for networks defining other distributed systems that have similar characteristics or similar dependability requirements.Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms
2024
Conference article
Open Access
An integrated perspective on the evaluation of complex railway systems
Basile D., Ter Beek M. H., Carnevali L., Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Fantechi A., Gori G.
The project ADVENTURE (ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms) aims to provide novel solutions for the evaluation of RAMS requirements as well as to present trade-offs between dependability attributes and energy consumption in complex railway systems, leveraging both qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods. To this end, case studies concerning distributed interlocking systems, standard interfaces, and railroad switch heaters are considered, comprising different challenging scenarios, notably representative of the complexity of railway systems. In this paper, we illustrate the objectives of the project and the activities planned to address them, devising future steps to integrate the envisaged contributions within a unified framework.Source: LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 15223, pp. 190-207. Crete, Greece, 27-31/10/2024
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-75390-9_13
Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms, Sustainable Mobility National Research Center
Metrics:
Basile D., Ter Beek M. H., Carnevali L., Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F., Fantechi A., Gori G.
The project ADVENTURE (ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms) aims to provide novel solutions for the evaluation of RAMS requirements as well as to present trade-offs between dependability attributes and energy consumption in complex railway systems, leveraging both qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods. To this end, case studies concerning distributed interlocking systems, standard interfaces, and railroad switch heaters are considered, comprising different challenging scenarios, notably representative of the complexity of railway systems. In this paper, we illustrate the objectives of the project and the activities planned to address them, devising future steps to integrate the envisaged contributions within a unified framework.Source: LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 15223, pp. 190-207. Crete, Greece, 27-31/10/2024
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-75390-9_13
Project(s): ADVancEd iNtegraTed evalUation of Railway systEms, Sustainable Mobility National Research Center
Metrics:
See at:
IRIS Cnr | IRIS Cnr | IRIS Cnr | Flore (Florence Research Repository) | Flore (Florence Research Repository) | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2024
Conference article
Open Access
A new metric of adaptivity for self-adaptive systems
Masetti G., Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F.
With focus on open-ended architectural adaptation, where individual components represent alternatives that can be added and removed dynamically at runtime, a new metric is proposed to provide insights on the effectiveness of architectural changes, such as the addition or removal of components. Specifically, the new metric allows to assess how much the system actually adapts to variations of the environment by properly applying a system reconfiguration. The approach is based on a statistical analysis of the system, which exploits the Bell inequality, conveniently adapted from the Quantum Mechanic theory. The formal definition of the new adaptability metric is presented, as well as an example of application in a simple case study.Source: COMMUNICATIONS IN COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE, vol. 2178, pp. 227-234. Pisa, Italy, 11-13/11/2024
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-70245-7_16
Metrics:
Masetti G., Chiaradonna S., Di Giandomenico F.
With focus on open-ended architectural adaptation, where individual components represent alternatives that can be added and removed dynamically at runtime, a new metric is proposed to provide insights on the effectiveness of architectural changes, such as the addition or removal of components. Specifically, the new metric allows to assess how much the system actually adapts to variations of the environment by properly applying a system reconfiguration. The approach is based on a statistical analysis of the system, which exploits the Bell inequality, conveniently adapted from the Quantum Mechanic theory. The formal definition of the new adaptability metric is presented, as well as an example of application in a simple case study.Source: COMMUNICATIONS IN COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE, vol. 2178, pp. 227-234. Pisa, Italy, 11-13/11/2024
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-70245-7_16
Metrics:
See at:
IRIS Cnr | IRIS Cnr | IRIS Cnr | doi.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2023
Conference article
Open Access
Dependability analysis of UPS architectures for the Italian railway signaling system
Masetti G., Di Giandomenico F., Chiaradonna S.
Continuous power supply in railway systems is vital to guar- antee dependable accomplishment of energy-supported critical opera- tions. With reference to the Italian railway infrastructure, this paper focuses on the railroad signaling system, used to control the movement of railway traffic, where Uninterruptable Power Supply systems (UPS) for Safety and Signalling are employed. Fault tolerant UPS architectures are adopted to cope with unpredictable fault events occurring at UPS level, potentially resulting in safety/availability violations. This paper proposes a stochastic model-based analysis to support the comparison between different UPS redundant architectures in terms of dependability attributes, primarily reliability and availability indicators. The analysis results can be fruitfully exploited by a designer to set up the most effec- tive UPS configuration, able to satisfy dependability requirements, while also accounting for possible saving in energy consumption.Source: LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 14198, pp. 98-114. Berlin, Germany, 10-12/10/2023
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-43366-5_6
Metrics:
Masetti G., Di Giandomenico F., Chiaradonna S.
Continuous power supply in railway systems is vital to guar- antee dependable accomplishment of energy-supported critical opera- tions. With reference to the Italian railway infrastructure, this paper focuses on the railroad signaling system, used to control the movement of railway traffic, where Uninterruptable Power Supply systems (UPS) for Safety and Signalling are employed. Fault tolerant UPS architectures are adopted to cope with unpredictable fault events occurring at UPS level, potentially resulting in safety/availability violations. This paper proposes a stochastic model-based analysis to support the comparison between different UPS redundant architectures in terms of dependability attributes, primarily reliability and availability indicators. The analysis results can be fruitfully exploited by a designer to set up the most effec- tive UPS configuration, able to satisfy dependability requirements, while also accounting for possible saving in energy consumption.Source: LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 14198, pp. 98-114. Berlin, Germany, 10-12/10/2023
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-43366-5_6
Metrics:
See at:
IRIS Cnr | IRIS Cnr | IRIS Cnr | doi.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2022
Conference article
Open Access
Solution bundles of Markov performability models through adaptive cross approximation
Masetti G, Robol L, Chiaradonna S, Di Giandomenico F
A technique to approximate solution bundles, i.e., solutions of a parametric model where parameters are treated as independent variables instead of constants, is presented for Markov models. Analyses based on an approximated solution bundle are more efficient than those that solve the model for all combinations of parameters' values separately. In this paper the idea is to properly adapt low rank tensor approximation techniques, and in particular Adaptive Cross Approximation, to the evaluation of performability attributes. Application on exemplary case studies confirms the advantages of the new solution technique with respect to solving the model for all time and parameters' combinations.DOI: 10.1109/dsn53405.2022.00046
Metrics:
Masetti G, Robol L, Chiaradonna S, Di Giandomenico F
A technique to approximate solution bundles, i.e., solutions of a parametric model where parameters are treated as independent variables instead of constants, is presented for Markov models. Analyses based on an approximated solution bundle are more efficient than those that solve the model for all combinations of parameters' values separately. In this paper the idea is to properly adapt low rank tensor approximation techniques, and in particular Adaptive Cross Approximation, to the evaluation of performability attributes. Application on exemplary case studies confirms the advantages of the new solution technique with respect to solving the model for all time and parameters' combinations.DOI: 10.1109/dsn53405.2022.00046
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | ieeexplore.ieee.org | ISTI Repository | doi.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2022
Journal article
Open Access
Implicit reward structures for implicit reliability models
Masetti G, Robol L, Chiaradonna S, Di Giandomenico F
A new methodology for effective definition and efficient evaluation of dependability-related properties is proposed. The analysis targets the systems composed of a large number of components, each one modeled implicitly through high-level formalisms, such as stochastic Petri nets. Since the component models are implicit, the reward structure that characterizes the dependability properties has to be implicit as well. Therefore, we present a new formalism to specify those reward structures. The focus here is on component models that can be mapped to stochastic automata with one or several absorbing states so that the system model can be mapped to a stochastic automata network with one or several absorbing states. Correspondingly, the new reward structure defined on each component's model is mapped to a reward vector so that the dependability-related properties of the system are expressed through a newly introduced measure defined starting from those reward vectors. A simple, yet representative, case study is adopted to show the feasibility of the method.Source: IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON RELIABILITY
DOI: 10.1109/tr.2022.3190915
Metrics:
Masetti G, Robol L, Chiaradonna S, Di Giandomenico F
A new methodology for effective definition and efficient evaluation of dependability-related properties is proposed. The analysis targets the systems composed of a large number of components, each one modeled implicitly through high-level formalisms, such as stochastic Petri nets. Since the component models are implicit, the reward structure that characterizes the dependability properties has to be implicit as well. Therefore, we present a new formalism to specify those reward structures. The focus here is on component models that can be mapped to stochastic automata with one or several absorbing states so that the system model can be mapped to a stochastic automata network with one or several absorbing states. Correspondingly, the new reward structure defined on each component's model is mapped to a reward vector so that the dependability-related properties of the system are expressed through a newly introduced measure defined starting from those reward vectors. A simple, yet representative, case study is adopted to show the feasibility of the method.Source: IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON RELIABILITY
DOI: 10.1109/tr.2022.3190915
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | ieeexplore.ieee.org | ISTI Repository | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2022
Journal article
Open Access
TAPAS: a tool for stochastic evaluation of large interdependent composed models with absorbing states
Masetti G, Robol L, Chiaradonna S, Di Giandomenico F
TAPAS is a new tool for efficient evaluation of dependability and performability attributes of systems composed of many interconnected components. The tool solves homogeneous continuous time Markov chains described by stochastic automata network models structured in submodels with absorbing states. The measures of interest are defined by a reward structure based on submodels composed through transition-based synchronization. The tool has been conceived in a modular and flexible fashion, to easily accommodate new features. Currently, it implements an array of state-based solvers that addresses the state explosion problem through powerful mathematical techniques, including Kronecker algebra, Tensor Trains and Exponential Sums. A simple, yet representative, case study is adopted, to present the tool and to show the feasibility of the supported methods, in particular frommemory consumption point of view.Source: PERFORMANCE EVALUATION REVIEW, vol. 49, pp. 41-46
DOI: 10.1145/3543146.3543157
Metrics:
Masetti G, Robol L, Chiaradonna S, Di Giandomenico F
TAPAS is a new tool for efficient evaluation of dependability and performability attributes of systems composed of many interconnected components. The tool solves homogeneous continuous time Markov chains described by stochastic automata network models structured in submodels with absorbing states. The measures of interest are defined by a reward structure based on submodels composed through transition-based synchronization. The tool has been conceived in a modular and flexible fashion, to easily accommodate new features. Currently, it implements an array of state-based solvers that addresses the state explosion problem through powerful mathematical techniques, including Kronecker algebra, Tensor Trains and Exponential Sums. A simple, yet representative, case study is adopted, to present the tool and to show the feasibility of the supported methods, in particular frommemory consumption point of view.Source: PERFORMANCE EVALUATION REVIEW, vol. 49, pp. 41-46
DOI: 10.1145/3543146.3543157
Metrics:
See at:
dl.acm.org | CNR IRIS | ISTI Repository | ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2022
Journal article
Open Access
Redundancy-based intrusion tolerance approaches moving from classical fault tolerance methods
Di Giandomenico F., Masetti G., Chiaradonna S.
Borrowing from well known fault tolerant approaches based on redundancy to mask the effect of faults, redundancy-based intrusion tolerance schemes are proposed in this paper, where redundancy of ICT components is exploited as a first defense line against a subset of compromised components within the redundant set, due to cyberattacks. Features to enhance defense and tolerance capabilities are first discussed, covering diversity-based redundancy, confusion techniques, protection mechanisms, locality policies and rejuvenation phases. Then, a set of intrusion tolerance variations of classical fault tolerant schemes (including N Version Programming and Recovery Block, as well as a few hybrid approaches) is proposed, by enriching each original scheme with one or more of the previously introduced defense mechanisms. As a practical support to the system designer in making an appropriate choice among the available solutions, for each developed scheme a schematic summary is provided, in terms of resources and defense facilities needed to tolerate f value failures and k omission failures, as well as observations regarding time requirements. To provide an example of more detailed analysis, useful to set up an appropriate intrusion tolerance configuration, a trade-off study between cost and additional redundancy employed for confusion purposes is also carried out.Source: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 32 (issue 4), pp. 701-719
DOI: 10.34768/amcs-2022-0048
Project(s): BIECO
Metrics:
Di Giandomenico F., Masetti G., Chiaradonna S.
Borrowing from well known fault tolerant approaches based on redundancy to mask the effect of faults, redundancy-based intrusion tolerance schemes are proposed in this paper, where redundancy of ICT components is exploited as a first defense line against a subset of compromised components within the redundant set, due to cyberattacks. Features to enhance defense and tolerance capabilities are first discussed, covering diversity-based redundancy, confusion techniques, protection mechanisms, locality policies and rejuvenation phases. Then, a set of intrusion tolerance variations of classical fault tolerant schemes (including N Version Programming and Recovery Block, as well as a few hybrid approaches) is proposed, by enriching each original scheme with one or more of the previously introduced defense mechanisms. As a practical support to the system designer in making an appropriate choice among the available solutions, for each developed scheme a schematic summary is provided, in terms of resources and defense facilities needed to tolerate f value failures and k omission failures, as well as observations regarding time requirements. To provide an example of more detailed analysis, useful to set up an appropriate intrusion tolerance configuration, a trade-off study between cost and additional redundancy employed for confusion purposes is also carried out.Source: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 32 (issue 4), pp. 701-719
DOI: 10.34768/amcs-2022-0048
Project(s): BIECO
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | ISTI Repository | www.amcs.uz.zgora.pl | doi.org | CNR IRIS
2022
Conference article
Open Access
Random bad state estimator to address false data injection in critical infrastructures
Masetti G, Chiaradonna S, Robol L, Di Giandomenico F
Given their crucial role for a society and economy, an essential component of critical infrastructures is the Bad State Estimator (BSE), responsible for detecting malfunctions affecting elements of the physical infrastructure. In the past, the BSE has been conceived to mainly cope with accidental faults, under assumptions characterizing their occurrence. However, evolution of the addressed systems category consisting in pervasiveness of ICT-based control towards increasing smartness, paired with the openness of the operational environment, contributed to expose critical infrastructures to intentional attacks, e.g. exploited through False Data Injection (FDI). In the flow of studies focusing on enhancements of the traditional BSE to account for FDI attacks, this paper proposes a new solution that introduces randomness elements in the diagnosis process, to improve detection abilities and mitigate potentially catastrophic common-mode errors. Differently from existing alternatives, the strength of this new technique is that it does not require any additional components or alternative source of information with respect to the classic BSE. Numerical experiments conducted on two IEEE transmission grid tests, taken as representative use cases, show the applicability and benefits of the new solution.DOI: 10.1109/prdc55274.2022.00024
Metrics:
Masetti G, Chiaradonna S, Robol L, Di Giandomenico F
Given their crucial role for a society and economy, an essential component of critical infrastructures is the Bad State Estimator (BSE), responsible for detecting malfunctions affecting elements of the physical infrastructure. In the past, the BSE has been conceived to mainly cope with accidental faults, under assumptions characterizing their occurrence. However, evolution of the addressed systems category consisting in pervasiveness of ICT-based control towards increasing smartness, paired with the openness of the operational environment, contributed to expose critical infrastructures to intentional attacks, e.g. exploited through False Data Injection (FDI). In the flow of studies focusing on enhancements of the traditional BSE to account for FDI attacks, this paper proposes a new solution that introduces randomness elements in the diagnosis process, to improve detection abilities and mitigate potentially catastrophic common-mode errors. Differently from existing alternatives, the strength of this new technique is that it does not require any additional components or alternative source of information with respect to the classic BSE. Numerical experiments conducted on two IEEE transmission grid tests, taken as representative use cases, show the applicability and benefits of the new solution.DOI: 10.1109/prdc55274.2022.00024
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | ieeexplore.ieee.org | ISTI Repository | doi.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2021
Journal article
Open Access
Enhancing sustainability of the railway infrastructure: Trading energy saving and unavailability through efficient switch heating policies
Chiaradonna S, Masetti G, Di Giandomenico F, Righetti F, Vallati C
Railway is currently envisioned as the most promising transportation system for both people and freight to reduce atmospheric emission and combat climate change. In this context, ensuring the energy efficiency of the railway systems is paramount in order to sustain their future expandability with minimum carbon footprint. Recent advancements in computing and communication technologies are expected to play a significant role to enable novel integrated control and management strategies in which heterogeneous data is exploited to noticeably increase energy efficiency. In this paper we focus on exploiting the convergence of heterogeneous information to improve energy efficiency of railway systems, in particular on the heating system for the railroad switches, one of the major energy intensive components. To this aim, we define new policies to efficiently manage the heating of these switches exploiting also external information such as weather and forecast data. In order to assess the performance of each strategy, a stochastic model representing the structure and operation of the railroad switch heating system and environmental conditions (both weather profiles and specific failure events) has been developed and exercised in a variety of representative scenarios. The obtained results allow to understand both strengths and limitations of each energy management policy, and serves as a useful support to make the choice of the best technique to employ to save on energy consumption, given the system conditions at hand.Source: SUSTAINABLE COMPUTING, vol. 30
DOI: 10.1016/j.suscom.2021.100519
Metrics:
Chiaradonna S, Masetti G, Di Giandomenico F, Righetti F, Vallati C
Railway is currently envisioned as the most promising transportation system for both people and freight to reduce atmospheric emission and combat climate change. In this context, ensuring the energy efficiency of the railway systems is paramount in order to sustain their future expandability with minimum carbon footprint. Recent advancements in computing and communication technologies are expected to play a significant role to enable novel integrated control and management strategies in which heterogeneous data is exploited to noticeably increase energy efficiency. In this paper we focus on exploiting the convergence of heterogeneous information to improve energy efficiency of railway systems, in particular on the heating system for the railroad switches, one of the major energy intensive components. To this aim, we define new policies to efficiently manage the heating of these switches exploiting also external information such as weather and forecast data. In order to assess the performance of each strategy, a stochastic model representing the structure and operation of the railroad switch heating system and environmental conditions (both weather profiles and specific failure events) has been developed and exercised in a variety of representative scenarios. The obtained results allow to understand both strengths and limitations of each energy management policy, and serves as a useful support to make the choice of the best technique to employ to save on energy consumption, given the system conditions at hand.Source: SUSTAINABLE COMPUTING, vol. 30
DOI: 10.1016/j.suscom.2021.100519
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | ISTI Repository | www.sciencedirect.com | Sustainable Computing Informatics and Systems | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2021
Journal article
Open Access
On identity-aware replication in stochastic modeling for simulation-based dependability analysis of large interconnected systems
Chiaradonna S, Di Giandomenico F, Masetti G
This paper focuses on the generation of stochastic models for dependability and performability analysis, through mechanisms for the automatic replication of template models when identity of replicas cannot be anonymous. The major objective of this work is to support the modeler in selecting the most appropriate replication mechanism, given the characteristics of the system under analysis. To this purpose, three most used solutions to identity-aware replication are considered and a formal framework to allow representing them in a consistent way is first defined. Then, a comparison of their behavior is extensively carried out, with focus on efficiency, both from a theoretical perspective and from a quantitative viewpoint. For the latter, a specific implementation of the considered replication mechanisms in the Möbius modeling environment and a case study representative of realistic interconnected infrastructures are developed.Source: PERFORMANCE EVALUATION, vol. 147
DOI: 10.1016/j.peva.2021.102192
Metrics:
Chiaradonna S, Di Giandomenico F, Masetti G
This paper focuses on the generation of stochastic models for dependability and performability analysis, through mechanisms for the automatic replication of template models when identity of replicas cannot be anonymous. The major objective of this work is to support the modeler in selecting the most appropriate replication mechanism, given the characteristics of the system under analysis. To this purpose, three most used solutions to identity-aware replication are considered and a formal framework to allow representing them in a consistent way is first defined. Then, a comparison of their behavior is extensively carried out, with focus on efficiency, both from a theoretical perspective and from a quantitative viewpoint. For the latter, a specific implementation of the considered replication mechanisms in the Möbius modeling environment and a case study representative of realistic interconnected infrastructures are developed.Source: PERFORMANCE EVALUATION, vol. 147
DOI: 10.1016/j.peva.2021.102192
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | ISTI Repository | www.sciencedirect.com | Performance Evaluation | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS