Creating a Digital Twin Based on Forge and Industry Standards (DEXPI, OPC UA, and FMI)

Digital twins of process plants are digital replicas of the physical plant that contain information of the plant structure and of the dynamics of how the processes and devices operate. In simulation-based digital twins (SBDTs), first-principles simulation models are used to obtain dynamics of the targeted plant. These applications can be used to derive nonmeasured information of the simulated system, to obtain high-fidelity predictions, or to perform system-wide optimization for improving plant performance. This class will present an extension to the work showcased at Autodesk University 2018. In this class, we’ll present a Forge-based SBDT that uses a Model Broker, a novel solution for automatic simulation model generation. Model Broker utilizes the DEXPI information format available from AutoCAD Plant 3D software to generate the underlying simulation model of the SBDT. In the example implementation used in this class, the generated model is connected to the plant using OPC UA.