Multicast Routing for Decentralized Control of Cyber Physical Systems with an Application in Smart Grid

In cyber physical systems, communication is needed for conveying sensor observations to controllers; thus, the design of the communication sub-system is of key importance for the stabilization of system dynamics. In this paper, multicast routing is studied for networking of decentralized sensors and controllers. The challenges of uncertain destinations and multiple routing modes, which are significantly different from traditional data networks, are addressed by employing the theories of hybrid systems and linear matrix inequalities, thus forming a novel framework for studying the communication sub-system in cyber physical systems. Both cases of neglible delay and non-negligible delay are discussed. The proposed framework is then applied in the context of voltage control in smart grid. Numerical simulations using a 4-bus power grid model show that the proposed framework and algorithm can effectively stabilize cyber physical systems.