Abstract / Description
Digital Twins (DTs) are forecasted to sustain half of all large industrial companies by 2021. In the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector, their actual application and technology is still largely at the prototype stage. Industry and academia are currently overwhelmed by competing definitions and unclear processes for developing DTs. There is the compelling need to establish DTs as practice in AEC by developing common procedures and standards, tailored to the sector’s procedures and use cases. This study aims to develop a step-by-step workflow process for developing a DT for an existing asset in the built environment, providing a proof-of-concept case study, based on the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol (UK). This aim is achieved through the following objectives: (i) proposing a working DT-based workflow framework for the built environment applicable to various assets, aligned with current state-of-the-art guidance; (ii) applying the framework and developing the physical-virtual architecture for a case study of bridge management; (iii) providing the foundation for integrating data to optimise asset management, and understand the socio-economic benefits; (iv) accelerating DT knowledge and digital advancement, in particular contributing to the digital transformation of the UK’s infrastructure. The novelty of this work consists in illustrating a step-by-step methodology of twinning, which is not limited to a methodological framework but applies to civil infrastructure more broadly. Its importance resides in the knowledge challenge, value proposition and operation dictated by developing a DT workflow for the built environment, which ultimately represents a relevant use case.