L’utilizzo del Digital Twin per la progettazione e la gestione degli impianti industriali: uno studio per l’integrazione di BIM e Process Simulation The use of the Digital Twin for the design and management of industrial plants: a study for the integration of BIM and Process Simulation

At the same time as the digital age is emerging in all areas of engineering, innovative tools for the design and management of industrial production plants are increasingly being developed, with engineers and managers looking for integrated solutions that speed up the conception of the Life Cycle of an industrial plant. Many tools, which are based on a renewed conception of simulation models, have been revisited thanks to the potential of software and computers on the market today, highlighting the concept of interoperability and data sharing. The present research project has as its basic purpose the integration of the concepts of Building Information Modelling and Process Simulation, applied simultaneously to the construction process and to the industrial plants. The analysis showed that high-performance alternative software solutions are already available, each of which is able to give more priority to specific aspects. The final result is the design of an innovative software solution with the aim of bridging the current gap and constituting a platform truly integrated with new technologies. From the Digital Supply Chain to the Internet of Things and from Artificial Intelligence to Factory 4.0, production plants will continue to play a key role in the end-to-end manufacturing supply chain: the present research project has the ambition to add a small piece in the framework of industrial sustainability based on modelling and process control.