Digital Twins in Asset Management: Potential Application Use Cases in Rail and Road Infrastructures

Abstract

Asset management is data-intensive and new tools and processes are often necessary to collect, manage, analyse, and use asset data. The use of these tools can improve organisational knowledge and decision-making. Industry 4.0 tools are prompting the digital transformation of organisations and emerging innovation opportunities. Among these tools are those supporting the concept of Digital Twin (DT). The concept started being mentioned a few decades ago, but the discussion around its definition and potential applications still continues. This paper explores some of the interpretations of the concept of DT and its interrelation with some Industry 4.0 tools. Besides presenting some of the known benefits and opportunities related to DT applications in specific industries such as aerospace and manufacturing, namely in the early stage of asset lifecycle, the paper seeks to emphasise the vast exploratory potential of DT use in infrastructure asset management, especially in the operation and maintenance (O&M) phases. This presentation includes the description of an exploratory project for DT implementation in rail and road networks by the largest infrastructure management body in Portugal.