Smart Grid: Constructing a System of Systems Model Using Both Qualitative and Quantitative Assessments

Abstract

When constructing a model of a system or system of systems, one usually decides between utilizing a qualitative model or a quantitative model. There exists a desire to leverage both modeling approaches by finding a way to compare and contrast both types of models. In this paper the authors make attempts to leverage these modeling techniques by exploring the use of a newly formulated methodology, referred to as Relational Oriented Systems Engineering and Technology Tradeoff Analysis (ROSETTA) as a way to compare qualitative assessment and quantitative analysis. This was applied to a sample problem of constructing a model of the Smart Grid. As a proof of concept, instead of examining the entire Smart Grid, only Demand Response and day-ahead load prediction were assessed. Qualitatively, the Quality Function Deployment methodology was used as a representative means to capture Subject Matter Expert (SME) opinion. On the quantitative side, an Agent-Based Modeling approach augmented with elements of Discrete Event Simulation was employed to construct a physics-based model. The use of ROSETTA allows for communication between the SMEs and the modelers, which was used to improve the accuracy of both models. This improvement comes from the iterations of the qualitative assessments and quantitative analyses, successively building off of insights gained from previous iterations. This paper shows the first steps in leveraging the benefits of both qualitative and quantitative models.