O Conceito de Digital Twin como Ferramenta de Apoio à Operação de Veículos Ferroviários

Abstract

Rail services are emerging as a major sustainable transportation option, especially in metropolitan areas. However, these services are significantly dependent on high investments and complex logistics, which creates the need to identify opportunities to minimize the waste of resources so that these services remain affordable and competitive. The digital twin, one of the core concepts of the Industry 4.0 paradigm, enables detailed, real-time monitoring of the state of a piece of equipment during its operation. Because of this, the digital twin represents an important support in ensuring sound decision making. Taking this into consideration, this work - developed within the scope of the Ferrovia 4.0 research project and co-funded by COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020, Lisboa 2020, and the European Union's European Structural and Investment Funds - seeks to explore the potential of the digital twin concept in monitoring the condition of railway vehicle components. First, an investigation was conducted about the applications and studies of the digital twin concept carried out in recent years. Next, a digital twin prototype of a generic train model was developed. This prototype is composed of a relational database for storing the data about the conditions of the different components of the vehicle, a web server for connecting to the database, and a mobile application that works as a dashboard of the digital twin. With the developed prototype, it was possible to glimpse how the digital twin concept provides a deeper knowledge of the working conditions of the components of a train. Besides, the prototype also enables preventive maintenance through the analysis of the historical evolution of the data collected from these components. The results of this study also allow the identification of possible improvements and research opportunities for future work.