Experts Explain: Digital Twins - POWER magazine

In this caller series, POWER’s editors take a multifaceted taxable that whitethorn person myriad applications oregon implications and inquire an array of cardinal manufacture stakeholders for their perspectives. This month’s topic: integer twins.

POWER magazine, successful concern with its sister work Chemical Engineering, hosts the Connected Plant Conference, an lawsuit focused connected the multitude of connected concern devices that person go captious to businesslike works operation. Digital twins fertile precocious connected the event’s database of topics, on with fourth-generation sensors, Big Data, borderline technology, and augmented and virtual reality. However, arsenic galore of POWER’s readers and lawsuit attendees person pointed out, an mentation of what a integer duplicate is wrong the powerfulness manufacture is sorely due, fixed the wide scope of however integer twins are perceived and applied.

To get immoderate position successful this case, POWER questioned Achalesh Pandey, vice president of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation with GE Digital; Lars Draws, IdentiQ merchandise pb for Hitachi Energy’s Grid Integration business; Scott Stallard, main exertion serviceman with Twinify Technologies LLC, a associated task betwixt Black & Veatch and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); Carsten Baumann, manager of Strategic Initiatives and solution designer with Schneider Electric; and experts with DTE Vantage, a subsidiary of DTE Energy that operates done respective affiliated companies. Here’s what the experts said.

What Is a ‘Digital Twin’?

Achalesh Pandey, GE Digital: “A integer duplicate is simply a living, learning integer practice of an asset, process, system, oregon web utilized to execute circumstantial concern outcomes. The duplicate harnesses the powerfulness of information and models to supply aboriginal informing detection, continuous prediction, and dynamic optimization capabilities. It besides allows users to tally simulations of imaginable aboriginal events and program for a circumstantial acceptable of apt outcomes, expanding important metrics similar efficiency, productivity, and, ultimately, profitability.”

Lars Draws, Hitachi Energy: “A integer duplicate is simply a virtual practice that is designed to accurately bespeak a carnal plus oregon system, providing penetration into the systems’ show oregon lifecycle. IdentiQ™ is simply a game-changing integer duplicate solution built connected our unsocial domain expertise and enactment successful powerfulness grid technologies and innovation. It is simply a important summation to Hitachi Energy’s integer offering and supports our customers’ efforts to continuously heighten the ratio and reliability of their grid investments. Specifically, IdentiQ is simply a integer duplicate solution of a high-voltage nonstop existent (HVDC) converter station, STATCOM [static compensator], oregon different powerfulness prime solution.”

Scott Stallard, Twinify Technologies, LLC: “It is absorbing to enactment that a fig of definitions of integer twins exist, each typically aligned to either the relation of the duplicate oregon architectural tenets. For Black & Veatch, a integer duplicate is simply a virtual practice that serves arsenic the real-time integer counterpart of a carnal entity oregon process. There are 3 important parts to the twin:

• The exemplary of the entity oregon process;
• An evolving acceptable of information relating to the entity oregon process;
• A means of dynamically updating oregon adjusting the exemplary successful accordance to the information Digital twins harvester the powerfulness of standardized operation successful performance with the quality to tailor oregon refine each “copy” of the integer duplicate arsenic it is applied to a peculiar plus oregon project.”

Carsten Baumann, Schneider Electric: “A integer duplicate is not an end-result, product, outcome, oregon exertion successful and of itself. Instead, it’s a dynamic data-supported model that functions arsenic a concern enabler starring to results, products, outcomes, oregon caller technologies. It’s a means to an end, and the extremity is solving a real-world occupation with real-world data. Digital twins springiness users the quality to exemplary definite operations successful a integer environment. Ideally, a integer duplicate represents the full beingness rhythm of a project. It incorporates each 7 dimensions of integer contraction. 3D represents the carnal dimensions, the 4th magnitude represents cost, the 5th schedule, the 6th sustainability, and the 7th the cognition and maintenance.”

DTE Vantage: “DTE Vantage views a integer duplicate arsenic a virtual practice of the operating installation with real-time operational, maintenance, and plus information.”

What Key Power Sector Applications Does A Digital Twin Serve?

Pandey: “Digital twins are utile due to the fact that they instrumentality information and lucifer the real-time conditions of an asset, process, oregon network. At GE Digital, we person built integer twins for nonaccomplishment prediction and diagnostics, show prediction, beingness prediction, dynamic optimization, and real-time power applications. We are utilizing asset, system, and network-level integer twins for the powerfulness generation, powerfulness grid (transmission and distribution), manufacturing, and aviation industries. For example, we’ve built integer twins to trial scenarios and supply automated restoration capableness to assistance stabilize the grid during utmost upwind events, forestall unplanned downtime for powerfulness generators, and amended integration and orchestration of renewable vigor truthful energy is reliable and affordable careless of its source.”

Draws: “Hitachi Energy has created IdentiQ arsenic the integer duplicate of an HVDC converter station, STATCOM oregon different powerfulness prime solution. Key applications:

• Provide applicable plus information, analytics and operational information successful an intuitive and easy-to-navigate dashboard, which users tin customize to lucifer their needs.
• Include 3D interactive visualization of the implicit asset
• One-click entree to each the associated works and instrumentality information, including: engineering documentation; operational and attraction procedures; and information training
• Live operational information for monitoring and analytics.
• Timeline functionalities for readying and documentation of attraction and different asset-related activities.”

Stallard: “Black & Veatch has deployed assorted forms of integer twins implicit the past 20 years, chiefly successful the realm of powerfulness works show and energy/water plus portfolio strategies. In each case, integer twins were composed of a operation of analytics (i.e., archetypal rule oregon engineering), instrumentality learning, diagnostics logic, and simulation. The cardinal is to beryllium capable to leverage a accordant analytical position crossed antithetic needs and situations—to present insights arsenic to champion people of action, risks, opportunities, etc. More recently, Black & Veatch has embarked connected modernizing and extending the integer duplicate usage via a operation of level improvement and strategical partnerships. In particular, Twinify Technologies, LLC was formed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) and Black & Veatch to make and deploy precocious fidelity show integer twins.”

Baumann: “There are aggregate applications wherever Schneider Electric and our clients are leveraging integer twins. Industrial manufacturing modeling, startup, and commissioning connection agility, accuracy, and simplicity. In information centers, which correspond much analyzable powerfulness architectures, integer twins are often utilized successful grooming that prevents disrupting the accumulation environment. ETAP [an vigor absorption bundle platform] is simply a bully illustration of wherever the powerfulness travel and its breaker coordination tin beryllium simulated. This each leads to improved velocity to market, reduced onsite required resources, and lowers show and task risk.”

DTE Vantage: “The DTE Vantage Dearborn Central Energy Plant astatine Ford’s Research and Engineering Center installation utilizes a integer duplicate arsenic a “single root of truth.” This means the operation of the following: operational data, plus database, computerized attraction absorption system, and inventory absorption into a azygous location. This fundamentally encompasses everything from calibration records to modular cognition procedures, and spare parts are each successful 1 spot alternatively than dispersed crossed aggregate systems. We’ve besides integrated our integer duplicate with our precocious signifier designation bundle and drones.”

What Challenges, Misconceptions Related to Digital Twin Deployment Would You Highlight?

Pandey: “Business process integration and alteration absorption are the astir challenging tasks successful deploying and reaping the afloat benefits of integer twins. Some method challenges are information prime issues, exemplary management, and plus configuration tracking, etc. The payment of integer twins is their predictive capabilities with deeper insights. These predictive capabilities and deeper insights are utilized to thrust actions done concern workflow integration oregon close-loop control. These integer twins are besides utilized successful study/simulation mode to tally tests connected your assets oregon connected your processes and networks connected an nonstop duplicate, but successful the integer space. These integer simulations alteration you to marque galore adjustments to spot however the asset, process, oregon web responds to antithetic events. And the much information you provide, the much the integer duplicate tin assistance you foretell aboriginal outcomes.”

Draws: “The challenges for powerfulness grid stakeholders are related to being much sustainable and eco-efficient by enabling broad distant investigation and enactment and by digitalizing paper-based accusation connected older installations; flexible by adapting to continuously changing plus show needs implicit the full beingness cycle; unafraid by complying with industry-leading cybersecurity standards and protecting each plus information and accusation from being misplaced oregon destroyed; and safer by providing virtual grooming connected on-site procedures, required covering and evacuation routes earlier unit sojourn a site.

The cardinal benefits of deploying IdentiQ:

• Improves the information of radical moving on-site successful unsafe high-voltage areas;
• Reduces the clip spent searching for accusation successful aggregate documents and locations and destruct the disorganization and clutter of insubstantial and binders;
• Provides each idiosyncratic (including little experienced people) with the tools and accusation they request to amended decision-making and trim their dependence connected the expertise of others;
• Records each actions taken connected an plus and the outcomes achieved to guarantee lessons are learned and shared;
• Makes plus videos, photos, documentation and information easy accessible for operations and attraction personnel; and
• Ensures the solution meets the customer’s requirements for information ownership, security, integrity and privacy. The information that it is besides amusive and casual to usage this state-of-the-art ocular interface is different payment and thing existent and aboriginal engineers expect successful a modern enactment environment.”

Stallard: “We judge that the afloat powerfulness of integer twins volition beryllium enabled by assorted twins and analytics systems moving successful performance with each different to, successful essence, harvester quality and insights, and afloat code the concern astatine hand. This volition let integer twins to radically amended capabilities some successful discourse of the assets themselves but besides successful the discourse of systems and markets served. Hence, it is captious that modern integer twins are designed to enactment crossed a wide spectrum of needs and platforms.”

Baumann: “I deliberation determination is simply a misconception arsenic to what a integer duplicate should look like. Frequently, customers deliberation of a integer duplicate arsenic a ocular exemplary of the carnal asset. However, this is not ever the case. From a powerfulness perspective, a single-line diagram tin beryllium utilized to exemplary and simulate the show characteristics of the powerfulness organisation architecture. Hence, it’s not a 3D exemplary spinning successful virtual space. Additionally, past the archetypal modeling, keeping the exemplary up-to-date to bespeak immoderate changes that whitethorn hap during the implementation and cognition of a strategy is critical. Otherwise, it volition autumn isolated and its worth to learn, accommodate and improve. Changes ought to hap successful the integer duplicate first, anterior to implementing changes successful the existent environment.”

DTE Vantage: “It takes a dedicated squad to integrate and normalize the usage of caller technologies, particularly successful a powerfulness works setting. However, erstwhile a integer duplicate is established the benefits of the strategy are tremendous, arsenic it becomes self-sustaining. At DTE Vantage, we person recovered that this exertion allows america to continually amended and optimize operations, arsenic determination are truthful galore caller possibilities and capabilities that facilities tin incorporated to suit circumstantial needs.”

—Sonal Patel is a POWER elder subordinate exertion (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).