Evaluation of Vulnerable Path: Using Heuristic Path-finding Algorithm in Physical Protection System of Nuclear Power Plant

Abstract A novel heuristic path-finding method named “Heuristic Path-finding for the Evaluation of PPS effectiveness, HPEP” was proposed for the evaluation of a vulnerable intrusion path in Physical Protection System (PPS). According to the design basis threat (DBT), HPEP takes the detection probability and interruption probability as heuristic information to analyze the vulnerable adversary path. Moreover, HPEP can find the shortest path for the response force to reach the target in the first attempt and guarantees interruption of an adversary intrusion. Three types of simulation experiments are studied for the feasible analysis of HPEP method. The analysis of main parameters in the simulation results will provide detailed and comprehensive technical information for the redesign and upgrade of the PPS.