Integration of digital twin, blockchain, artificial intelligence in an IoT Metaverse environment for mitigation and assessment of cascading failure events in smart grids: Recent advancement and future research challenges

Abstract

Among several disturbances in power systems, cascading failures (CF) are considered extreme and serious hazards to grid procedures, possibly prominent to substantial stability problems or regular power blackouts. The growing smart grid (SG) complexity and their correlation to distinct infrastructure structures have enhanced their vulnerability to CF incidents. These challenges require innovative techniques that integrate developed technologies. This survey studies the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain (BC), digital twin (DT), and within an IoT-permitted Metaverse (MV) environment to mitigate and assess CF in SGs. The technology of DT facilitates dynamic simulations, predictive analysis, and real-time monitoring, enabling resolution and proactive identification of structure irregularities. Blockchain (BC) presents a decentralized framework, secure for data management, and develops transparency in smart contracts, while artificial intelligence (AI) forces decision support approaches, predictive analytics, and autonomous mitigation policies. The IoT proposes immersive, real-time simulation, collaboration, and visualization of failure situations, enabling stakeholders to test and design effective results. Despite recent innovations, considerable challenges remain. These involve standardization and interoperability across varied policies, scalability to manage energy efficiency, cybersecurity threats, vast datasets, and the solutions of cost-effective integration. Adopting these challenges demands innovative design and interdisciplinary research to ensure a sustainable, resilient, robust SG network. This research survey delivers a comprehensive review of recent advancements, outlines future directions, identifies serious research gaps, and leverages these technologies to increase the SG resilience against CF.