Analysis of Infrastructure Networks

In recent years, the study of complex networks has been applied to many areas of research, including: mathematics, social sciences, biological systems and computer science. It is often cited that Euler’s celebrated solution of the Konigsberg bridge problem, in 1735, is the first true proof in the theory of networks (Newman, 2003) and since this date several ‘notable ’ advances in this area have been made. This paper presents some of the more important advances, made in this field, that are applicable to the understanding of infrastructure networks. The European air traffic network is then used as an example to demonstrate that graph theory can inform us about the change in performance of our infrastructure networks when they are subjected to different types of ‘disasters’.