Digital Twin for Industrial Asset Management: A Case Study for Pipeline Maintenance

Industrial asset management (IAM) is crucial for the sustainability and efficiency of industries that depend on significant infrastructure, especially pipelines. Pipelines are vital assets in the global energy supply chain, transporting oil, natural gas, and chemical products, and their maintenance is essential to prevent severe environmental and economic consequences. However, current methods such as manual visual inspections are limited by their invasiveness, the requirement for periodic shutdowns, and a lack of real-time accuracy. These limitations present substantial challenges to effective IAM. This paper introduces an innovative digital twin ecosystem integrated with information and communication technology to enhance IAM for pipelines. This ecosystem creates a dynamic, interactive digital twin that accurately reflects the physical state of pipelines, bolstered by real-time data transmission from sensors. The ecosystem comprises physical pipelines equipped with sensors, a comprehensive data knowledge library that records and updates damage information, a virtual pipeline twin, and an interactive platform that facilitates detailed visualization and interaction. Through a detailed case study of pipeline damage detection on cracks and corrosion using visual imaging techniques, this paper demonstrates enhanced results and visualizations compared to existing methods. The observed damage features sharper contrasts, higher resolution, and clearer boundaries in affected areas, significantly improving the accuracy of damage localization. Additionally, the relative accuracy of the calculated damage stress intensity factor by the virtual twin model reaches 95%. In summary, the capabilities for real-time, remote interaction and comprehensive visualization within the digital twin ecosystem significantly enhance the management efficiency of digital and intelligent pipeline IAM.