Applications of Digital Twins for the Construction Process
Publication: Computing in Civil Engineering 2023
ABSTRACT
With a focus on the automation of construction, this paper presents a literature review and overview of how digital twins can be used in construction and their potential applications. A digital twin is a digital, intelligent counterpart of a real-life object, human, process, or building, which is uniquely linked to its physical twin, establishing a one-to-one correspondence between them. Construction projects involve a huge amount of information creation and sharing among the project team. Hence, a large amount of data is generated in each project which needs to be created, analyzed, and made accessible to everyone working on the same building. A digital twin offers additional value over the use of building information models (BIM) to manage the construction process because of its potential to update using real-time progress and simulate forecasted conditions. Unlike digital twins in manufacturing, digital twins for construction are still poorly understood. The temporary nature of construction and the dynamic nature of the sites make monitoring of construction processes and resources difficult. To address this issue, this paper explores the use of digital twins in construction processes. It discusses the use cases of digital twins and their potential application in construction contexts. It is observed that sequencing tasks/processes, navigation, forecasting, and setting up data-enriched 3D models to simulate construction processes can all be potentially mirrored using digital twins with more innovations in existing technology in construction.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this chapter.
REFERENCES
Agarwal, R., Chandrasekaran, S., and Sridhar, M. (2016). Imagining construction’s digital future. McKinsey & Company.
Ariansyah, D., Fernàndez del Amo, I., Erkoyuncu, J. A., Agha, M., Bulka, D., De La Puante, J., and Penver, S. (2020). Digital twin development: a step-by-step guideline.
Azhar, S. (2011). Building information modeling (BIM): Trends, benefits, risks, and challenges for the AEC industry. Leadership and Management in Engineering, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)LM.1943-5630.0000127.
Barricelli, B. R., Casiraghi, E., and Fogli, D. (2019). A survey on digital twin: Definitions, characteristics, applications, and design implications. IEEE access, 7, 167653–167671.
Bolton, A., Butler, L., Dabson, I., Enzer, M., Evans, M., Fenemore, T., and Makri, C. (2018). Gemini principles.
Boschert, S., and Rosen, R. Digital twin—the simulation aspect. In:Hehenberger, P., & Bradley, D. (Eds.). (2016). Mechatronic futures: Challenges and solutions for mechatronic systems and their designers. Springer.
Brenner, B., and Hummel, V. (2017). Digital Twin as Enabler for an Innovative Digital Shopfloor Management System in the ESB Logistics Learning Factory at Reutlingen - University. Procedia Manufacturing, 9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2017.04.039.
Cramer, M. (2023). Defining a Taxonomy for Construction Digital Twin Use Cases. Master of Science Thesis. The Pennsylvania State University.
Feng, Y., Zhao, J., Kleinstreuer, C., Wang, Q., Wang, J., Wu, D. H., and Lin, J. (2018). An in silico inter-subject variability study of extra-thoracic morphology effects on inhaled particle transport and deposition. Journal of Aerosol Science, 123, 185–207.
Gartner. Accessed: February 25, 2023. “Definition of Digitalization -Gartner Information Technology Glossary.” Gartner, <https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/digitalization>.
Gerber, D., Nguyen, B., and Gaetani, I. (2019). Digital twin—towards a meaningful framework. Arup Research. https://research.arup.com/publications/digital-twin-towards-a-meaningful-framework/.
Gong, J., and Caldas, C. H. (2008). Data processing for real-time construction site spatial modeling. Automation in Construction, 17(5), 526–535.
Karji, A., Messner, J., Leicht, R., and McComb, C. (2022). Identification of the Barriers to Data-Centric Approach in the Construction Industry. In Construction Research Congress 2022 (pp. 1002–1011).
Kunz, J., and Fischer, M. (2012). Virtual Design and Construction: Themes, Case Studies and Implementation Suggestions.
Liu, M., Fang, S., Dong, H., and Xu, C. (2021). Review of digital twin about concepts, technologies, and industrial applications. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2020.06.017.
Lu, Q., Xie, X., Parlikad, A. K., and Schooling, J. M. (2020b). “Digital twin-enabled anomaly detection for built asset monitoring in operation and maintenance.” Autom. Constr. 118 (Oct): 103277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2020.103277.
Lundberg, O., Nylén, D., and Sandberg, J. (2021). Unpacking construction site digitalization: the role of incongruence and inconsistency in technological frames. Construction Management and Economics. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2021.1980896.
Mihindu, S., and Arayici, Y. (2008). Digital construction through BIM systems will drive the Re-engineering of construction business practices. Proceedings - International Conference Visualisation, VIS 2008, Visualisation in Built and Rural Environments. https://doi.org/10.1109/VIS.2008.22.
Pan, Y., and Zhang, L. (2021). A BIM-data mining integrated digital twin framework for advanced project management. Automation in Construction, 124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2021.103564.
Polyniak, K., and Matthews, J. (2019). The Johns Hopkins Hospital Launches Capacity Command Center to Enhance Hospital Operations.
Rosen, R., VonWichert, G., Lo, G., and Bettenhausen, K. D. (2015). About the importance of autonomy and digital twins for the future of manufacturing. IFAC-PapersOnLine 48(3), 567–572.
Sacks, R., Brilakis, I., Pikas, E., Xie, H. S., and Girolami, M. (2020). Construction with digital twin information systems. Data-Centric Engineering, 1(6). https://doi.org/10.1017/dce.2020.16.
Scharff, S. (2010). From Digital Twin to Improved Patient Experience. Siemens Healthineers.
Shafto, M., Conroy, M., Doyle, R., Glaessgen, E., Kemp, C., LeMoigne, J., and Wang, L. (2010). NASA technology roadmap: DRAFT modeling, simulation, information technology & processing roadmap technology area 11, Nov 2010.
Shi, Q., Zhang, Z., He, T., Sun, Z., Wang, B., Feng, Y., and Lee, C. (2020). Deep learning enabled smart mats as a scalable floor monitoring system. Nature communications, 11(1), 4609.
Tang, S., Shelden, D. R., Eastman, C. M., Pishdad-Bozorgi, P., and Gao, X. (2019). A review of building information modeling (BIM) and the internet of things (IoT) devices integration: Present status and future trends. In Automation in Construction (Vol. 101). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2019.01.020.
Tao, F., Sui, F., Liu, A., Qi, Q., Zhang, M., Song, B., Guo, Z., Lu, S. C. Y., and Nee, A. Y. C. (2019). Digital twin-driven product design framework. International Journal of Production Research 57(12), 3935–3953.
The Living Heart Project. Accessed: March 4, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/solutions/life-sciences/the-living-heart-project.DassaultSystemes.
Wei, Y., Lei, Z., and Altaf, S. An Off-Site Construction Digital Twin Assessment Framework Using Wood Panelized Construction as a Case Study. Buildings. 2022; 12(5):566. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12050566.
Yang, J., Zhang, W., and Liu, Y. (2013). Subcycle fatigue crack growth mechanism investigation for aluminum alloys and steel. In 54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC structures, structural dynamics, and materials conference (p. 1499).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Computing in Civil Engineering 2023
Pages: 357 - 363
History
Published online: Jan 25, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Architectural engineering
- Building information modeling
- Building management
- Buildings
- Construction engineering
- Construction management
- Construction sites
- Engineering fundamentals
- Models (by type)
- Project management
- Simulation models
- Smart buildings
- Structural engineering
- Structures (by type)
- Three-dimensional models
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.