Exploring applicability, interoperability and integrability of Blockchain-based digital twins for asset life cycle management

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Santi Götz ◽  
Patrik Karlsson ◽  
Ibrahim Yitmen

PurposeThe blockchain-based digital twin has been recognized as a prominent technological ecosystem featuring synergies with both established and emergent information management practice. The purpose of this research is to explore the applicability, interoperability and integrability of a blockchain-based digital twin for asset life cycle management and develop a model of framework which positions the digital twin within a broader context of current management practice and technological availability.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was performed to map use cases of digital twin, IoT, blockchain and smart contract technologies. Surveys of industry professionals and analyses were conducted focussing on the mapped use cases' life cycle–centric applicability, interoperability and integrability with current asset life cycle management practice, exploring decision support capabilities and industry insights. Lastly, a model of framework was developed based on the use case, interoperability and integrability findings.FindingsThe results support approaching digitization initiatives with blockchain-based digital twins and the positioning of the concept as both a strategic tool and a multifunctional on-field support application. Integrability enablers include progression towards BIM level 3, decentralized program hubs, modular cross-technological platform interfaces, as well as mergeable and scalable blockchains.Practical implicationsKnowledge of use cases help highlight the functionality of an integrated technological ecosystem and its connection to comprehensive sets of asset life cycle management aspects. Exploring integrability enablers contribute to the development of management practice and solution development as user expectations and technological prerequisites are interlinked.Originality/valueThe research explores asset life cycle management use cases, interoperability and integrability enablers of blockchain-based digital twins and positions the technological ecosystem within current practice and technological availability.

Author(s):  
Dmitry Yu. Petrov ◽  
◽  

The relationship of the Industry 4.0 concept with cyber-physical systems and digital twins is described. The analysis of the capabilities of modern information systems of discrete and continuous production for the creation of digital twins of production is presented. The stages of creating a digital twin of production are proposed, taking into account the requirements of standards for the development of automated control systems for continuous technological processes. Using the use case diagram, the functionality and requirements for the subsystems of the information system are determined. The architecture of the information system for managing the life cycle of a continuous technological process was developed.


Author(s):  
David Edward Jones ◽  
Chris Snider ◽  
Lee Kent ◽  
Ben Hicks

ABSTRACTWhile extensive modelling - both physical and virtual - is imperative to develop right-first-time products, the parallel use of virtual and physical models gives rise to two interrelated issues: the lack of revision control for physical prototypes; and the need for designers to manually inspect, measure, and interpret modifications to either virtual or physical models, for subsequent update of the other. The Digital Twin paradigm addresses similar problems later in the product life-cycle, and while these digital twins, or the “twinning” process, have shown significant value, there is little work to date on their implementation in the earlier design stages. With large prospective benefits in increased product understanding, performance, and reduced design cycle time and cost, this paper explores the concept of using the Digital Twin in early design, including an introduction to digital twinning, examination of opportunities for and challenges of their implementation, a presentation of the structure of Early Stage Twins, and evaluation via two implementation cases.


Author(s):  
Davide Settembre Blundo ◽  
Anna Maria Ferrari ◽  
Martina Pini ◽  
Maria Pia Riccardi ◽  
José Francisco García ◽  
...  

Purpose – In this paper, of exploratory character, the purpose of this paper is to propose the analysis of the life cycle for assessing the environmental, economic, and social impact in the activity of recovery, restoration, and valorization of Cultural Heritage. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis protocol is applied to the case of recovery and restoration processes and then outlining the salient features of what may become a model of Cultural Heritage Life Cycle Management (CH-LCM). Findings – The authors propose the approach of the life cycle, normally used to assess the impact of materials, processes or products, to the management of cultural heritage as an innovative methodology with great potential. Originality/value – The methodology for this sector is highly innovative, especially in its interdisciplinary approach, through the use of different technical, historical, and economic skills which can provide the tools for the preparation of a management plan according to the logic of the life cycle.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omobolanle Ruth Ogunseiju ◽  
Johnson Olayiwola ◽  
Abiola Abosede Akanmu ◽  
Chukwuma Nnaji

PurposeThe physically-demanding and repetitive nature of construction work often exposes workers to work-related musculoskeletal injuries. Real-time information about the ergonomic consequences of workers' postures can enhance their ability to control or self-manage their exposures. This study proposes a digital twin framework to improve self-management ergonomic exposures through bi-directional mapping between workers' postures and their corresponding virtual replica.Design/methodology/approachThe viability of the proposed approach was demonstrated by implementing the digital twin framework on a simulated floor-framing task. The proposed framework uses wearable sensors to track the kinematics of workers' body segments and communicates the ergonomic risks via an augmented virtual replica within the worker's field of view. Sequence-to-sequence long short-term memory (LSTM) network is employed to adapt the virtual feedback to workers' performance.FindingsResults show promise for reducing ergonomic risks of the construction workforce through improved awareness. The experimental study demonstrates feasibility of the proposed approach for reducing overexertion of the trunk. Performance of the LSTM network improved when trained with augmented data but at a high computational cost.Research limitations/implicationsSuggested actionable feedback is currently based on actual work postures. The study is experimental and will need to be scaled up prior to field deployment.Originality/valueThis study reveals the potentials of digital twins for personalized posture training and sets precedence for further investigations into opportunities offered by digital twins for improving health and wellbeing of the construction workforce.


Author(s):  
Amged Sayed A. Mahmoud ◽  
Ezz El-Din Hemdan

Digital twin has gained a great interest during the last few years from academia and industry because of the development in IT technology, communication field, and sensor technology. The general vision of the DT is to provide a detailed physical and functional description of a component, product, and systems. Nevertheless, the digital twin is a highly dynamic concept growing in complexity during the product life cycle, which leads to an enormous amount of data and information. Motivated by these, this chapter investigates the concepts and architecture of DT to cover its challenges and explore its applications in various fields such as smart cities, smart manufacturing and factories, and healthcare sectors. In the end, the challenges and research areas will be presented.


Author(s):  
Hendrik van der Valk ◽  
Hendrik Haße ◽  
Frederik Möller ◽  
Boris Otto

AbstractCurrently, Digital Twins receive considerable attention from practitioners and in research. A Digital Twin describes a concept that connects physical and virtual objects through a data linkage. However, Digital Twins are highly dependent on their individual use case, which leads to a plethora of Digital Twin configurations. Based on a thorough literature analysis and two interview series with experts from various electrical and mechanical engineering companies, this paper proposes a set of archetypes of Digital Twins for individual use cases. It delimits the Digital Twins from related concepts, e.g., Digital Threads. The paper delivers profound insights into the domain of Digital Twins and, thus, helps the reader to identify the different archetypical patterns.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 441-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filipa Salvado ◽  
Nuno Almeida ◽  
Alvaro Vale e Azevedo

Purpose Both financial and non-financial functions are imbedded in the life-cycle management activities of building assets. These functions provide relevant information for the establishment of operational and maintenance strategies and for decision-making processes related with the timing of major repairs, replacements and rehabilitations. The purpose of this paper is to focus on improving the alignment of financial and non-financial functions related to the recognition that the service potential of buildings should be appropriately funded as it is consumed over its life cycle. Design/methodology/approach Authors undertake an analysis of depreciation rates used to accommodate a systematic allocation of the depreciable amount of building assets over its useful life. Different depreciation approaches and calculation methods are explored. A case study of a school building portfolio is used to debate situations of misalignment of financial and non-financial depreciation rates. Data mining methods including decision tree and clustering are used to predict equivalent functional depreciation rates of buildings system and subsystems and promote an enhanced alignment with regulated financial depreciation rates toward an optimized life-cycle management of the school building portfolio. Findings Historical data show the relevance of considering technical and functional characteristics of the building system and their subsystems (landscaping; structure; external elevations and roofs; interior divisions; and services and equipment) when determining depreciation rates for the building assets The case study showed a misalignment of equivalent functional and financial depreciation rates used in the life-cycle management activities of the school building portfolio ranging between 1/1.26 for external elevations and roofs and 1/5.21 for landscaping. Originality/value Buildings initial technical and functional attributes are affected with its wear, aging or decay, causing loss of value until they reach end-of-life. This paper demonstrates the impact of the different interpretations of the concept of useful life and the subsequent misalignment that it generates between financial functions based on financial depreciation rates and non-financial functions based on historical data and the functional equivalent (technical and functional) depreciation rates. Economic data of 158 public school buildings constructed in Portugal since the 1940s, that sound life-cycle thinking enhances the alignment of both financial and non-financial functions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (9) ◽  
pp. 762-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Behrang Ashtari Talkhestani ◽  
Tobias Jung ◽  
Benjamin Lindemann ◽  
Nada Sahlab ◽  
Nasser Jazdi ◽  
...  

Abstract The role of a Digital Twin is increasingly discussed within the context of Cyber-Physical Production Systems. Accordingly, various architectures for the realization of Digital Twin use cases are conceptualized. There lacks, however, a clear, encompassing architecture covering necessary components of a Digital Twin to realize various use cases in an intelligent automation system. In this contribution, the added value of a Digital Twin in an intelligent automation system is highlighted and various existing definitions and architectures of the Digital Twin are discussed. Flowingly, an architecture for a Digital Twin and an architecture for an Intelligent Digital Twin and their required components are proposed, with which use cases such as plug and produce, self-x and predictive maintenance are enabled. In the opinion of the authors, a Digital Twin requires three main characteristics: synchronization with the real asset, active data acquisition from the real environment and the ability of simulation. In addition to all the characteristics of a Digital Twin, an Intelligent Digital Twin must also include the characteristics of Artificial Intelligence. The Intelligent Digital Twin can be used for the realization of the autonomous Cyber-Physical Production Systems. In order to realize the proposed architecture for a Digital Twin, several methods, namely the Anchor-Point-Method, a method for heterogeneous data acquisition and data integration as well as an agent-based method for the development of a co-simulation between Digital Twins were implemented and evaluated.


2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-72
Author(s):  
Mohammad A. Hassanain ◽  
Ali Al‐Mudhei

PurposeThe objectives of this paper are to identify and rate the importance levels of the factors that may affect business continuity during partial renovation of office buildings while being occupied. The paper also proposes a checklist of measures to carry out in order to reduce the impact of renovation works on business continuity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have analyzed the published literature for the purpose of reviewing the reasons for renovating the workplace, and aspects of planning and scheduling renovation works in occupied facilities. A sum of 24 elements that may affect business continuity during partial renovations of open‐plan office buildings while being occupied were identified. These factors were classified under four categories, including functional, technical, behavioral, and management practice factors. The authors then developed a questionnaire to rate users' perception of importance to each of the identified 24 elements and conducted a survey to evaluate the importance of these elements on business continuity in two office buildings.FindingsThe importance levels of each of the elements were analyzed and reported. The authors also developed a checklist of measures to carry out to reduce the impact of renovation works on business continuity in office buildings.Originality/valueFacilities during their life cycle may be renovated to restore or upgrade the functionality of their building elements, or to suit a new function. Renovation works could negatively affect businesses continuity and decrease levels of productivity due to their impact of the technical systems in the building, and the time spent on relocating employees to temporary facilities until the renovations are completed. However, in some cases renovation works could be performed without the need for relocating employees, or the business to be stopped. The paper provides a practical value to building owners and facility managers intending to undertake renovation works during the life cycle of their buildings.


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