Spatially Differentiated Reliability Modeling for Smart AtoN Networks during Offshore Wind Farm Construction

The construction of large-scale offshore wind farms significantly increases the complexity of surrounding navigable waters, posing new challenges to the reliability assessment of aids to navigation (AtoN) systems. Traditional evaluation methods often assume uniform risk conditions, which may oversimplify the non-uniform navigational environment during the construction phase. To address this issue, this paper proposes a spatially differentiated reliability assessment framework for smart AtoN networks. The construction area is divided into several spatial zones according to navigational characteristics and traffic intensity. Based on this spatial partitioning, a binary decoupling mechanism of node failure risk is established by separating the impacts of external hazards and internal engineering activities. The hardware degradation process of AtoN nodes is modeled using the Weibull distribution, and an environmental acceleration factor (EAF) is introduced to characterize the spatial variation of physical stress levels. Monte Carlo simulation is then employed to analyze the reliability evolution of the smart AtoN networks over the entire construction cycle. The results reveal pronounced spatial non-uniformity in the degradation trajectories of AtoN nodes across different zones. Compared with conventional models based on uniform assumptions, the proposed approach can more accurately capture early-stage risk concentration and the long-tail resilience effect of low-risk nodes. These findings provide quantitative support for spatially differentiated maintenance strategies and inspection planning, thereby improving navigation safety management in offshore wind farm construction areas.