Services
Digital Twins constitute the basis for a variety of services such as advanced system monitoring, optimization of system operation as well as fault detection and diagnosis.
The services, which may be improved and offered through digital twins, are manifold and depend on the system and the boundary conditions. The current project focuses on advanced system monitoring, optimization of system operation as well as fault detection and diagnosis.
Advanced system monitoring
In a first step, it is important to monitor the system and gain insights, which may not be concluded directly from measurements. This implies:
- Analysis of functionality and performance of systems and components
- Performance benchmarking of systems and components
- Soft sensors
These services enable conclusions about the system performance during operation and enable the possibility of comparison to simulated benchmarks and other systems. In addition, parameters may be estimated which enables redundancy of sensors by soft sensors as well as estimation of parameters, which are difficult to measure.
Fault detection and diagnosis
The continuous data analysis enables the possibility to detect and analyse fault mechanisms at an early stage and to take respective precautions.
- Fault mechanism monitoring including early stage warning and predictive maintenance
- Model-based interpretation of system alerts
Optimized system operation
Limited knowledge about the system and its status leads to conservative and sub-optimal operating set-points. Based on the numerical models, set-points for optimal operation may be determined under consideration of various aspects such as supply of heating and cooling, variable electricity tariffs, and required downtime. Possible services comprise:
- Continuous set-point tuning
- Scheduling of production times and downtime.
