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A time-coupled multi-objective distributionally robust chance-constrained framework for grid resilience enhancement using mobile emergency generators
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  • Published: 25 January 2026

A time-coupled multi-objective distributionally robust chance-constrained framework for grid resilience enhancement using mobile emergency generators

  • D. Ashokaraju1,
  • M. L. Ramamoorthy2,
  • Deepa Simon3,
  • N. Ashok4 &
  • …
  • Abhijit Bhowmik5,6 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Engineering
  • Mathematics and computing

Abstract

This study presents a time-coupled, multi-objective distributionally robust chance-constrained (MODRCC) framework for resilient grid restoration using Mobile Emergency Generators (MEGs). The model unifies (i) time-expanded logistics for MEG routing, crew scheduling, and refuelling, (ii) islanding-feasible DC-OPF under line outages, and (iii) Wasserstein-ball ambiguity to hedge uncertainty in attack severity and travel-time delays. Disjunctive linearization and second-order-cone (SOC) embeddings yield a tractable MISOCP that is evaluated inside an NSGA-II evolutionary search to generate the Pareto frontier between total cost and resilience. Experiments on IEEE-24 and IEEE-118 (12-hour horizon, 24 periods) show that, at comparable budgets, the proposed method reduces expected unserved energy (EUE) by 14–20% relative to static DRCC and classical robust baselines. On the IEEE-118 case, representative operating points illustrate a ~ 54% decrease in EUE (92→42 MWh) for a ~ 10% increase in cost along the frontier, evidencing smooth, convex trade-offs induced by Wasserstein regularization. The solver stack (Gurobi 12.0 + NSGA-II) scales efficiently; with parallel fitness evaluation it converges in ~ 2.8 h for IEEE-118 (16 MEGs). Results confirm that explicitly coupling mobility realism with distributionally robust modelling yields operationally credible, cost-aware restoration schedules suitable for disaster-prone regions.

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Data availability

All the data required are available within the manuscript.

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Salem, India

    D. Ashokaraju

  2. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Alagappa Chettiar Government College of Engineering and Technology, Karaikudi, India

    M. L. Ramamoorthy

  3. Department of Manufacturing, Saveetha School of engineering, Saveetha Institute of Science Technology, Chennai, India

    Deepa Simon

  4. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma, Ethiopia

    N. Ashok

  5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dream Institute of Technology, Kolkata, 700104, India

    Abhijit Bhowmik

  6. Centre for Research Impact & Outcome, Chitkara University, Rajpura, Punjab, 140401, India

    Abhijit Bhowmik

Authors
  1. D. Ashokaraju
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  2. M. L. Ramamoorthy
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  4. N. Ashok
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Contributions

**D. Ashokaraju: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Data curation.**ML Ramamoorthy: Formal analysis, Validation, Investigation, Writing - review & editing.**Deepa Simon: Funding acquisition, Writing - review & editing.**N Ashok: Funding, Supervision**Abhijit Bhowmik: Conceptualization, Methodology.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Deepa Simon or N. Ashok.

Ethics declarations

Ethical statement

This study did not involve human or animal subjects. All experiments followed institutional safety and waste management guidelines. Ethical research practices were maintained, ensuring accurate data collection, analysis and reporting.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Cite this article

Ashokaraju, D., Ramamoorthy, M.L., Simon, D. et al. A time-coupled multi-objective distributionally robust chance-constrained framework for grid resilience enhancement using mobile emergency generators. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37197-4

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  • Received: 16 October 2025

  • Accepted: 20 January 2026

  • Published: 25 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37197-4

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Keywords

  • Grid resilience
  • Distributionally robust optimization
  • Chance constraints
  • Wasserstein ambiguity
  • Mobile generators
  • DC-OPF
  • NSGA-II
  • MISOCP
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