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Requirements and experiences on a sustainable digital twin platform for dependable studies of thermal processes dynamics JOKELAINEN Miikka1, PORKHOLM Kari2, and JUSLIN Kaj3   1. Fortum Power and Heat Oy, Keilalahdentie 2-4, Espoo 02150, Finland (miikka.jokelainen@fortum.com) 2. Fortum Power and Heat Oy, Keilalahdentie 2-4, Espoo 02150, Finland (kari.porkholm@fortum.com) 3. Enbuscon Ltd, P.O. box 126, Helsinki 00531, Finland (kaj.juslin@enbuscon.com)   Abstract:Digitalization for dynamic simulation studies of thermal processes may focus on just a separate process component, on an energy storage, on a single power plant, or on multiple consumers and producers connected with electric, district heating, district cooling, or natural gas networks. Typical boundary conditions needed for such studies are estimated curves for power consumption, weather and wind. With access to a carefully updated dynamic digital twin of your thermal process in consideration, then at any time, you can test how the processes, the automation and the electrical systems work together. The functionality provided by the simulation platform of the digital twin shall make it possible for process, automation and electrical engineers to update the simulation model making use of its graphical interface, just by drawing process, automation and electric diagrams and filling in appropriate attribute values for the simulated components. Accordingly, it should neither be necessary to hire any experts on Inter-Connected Tests (ICT), programming, nor on the solution of differential equations, to keep the digital twin up to date. The simulation platform of the digital twin shall provide for a library of credibly verified and validated component models required for your application. The platform shall contain a database for the storage of component parameters and connections. To be sustainable, the database shall be easily transported from one computer generation to the following. The platform must cope with dynamic simulation in real time. Then, if you connect the platform to a copy of the real control room equipment you also have access to a training simulator. If you replace the automation system models of the simulator with the actual configured automation system, then it can be tested in advance, already at the suppliers site. It is expected, that the commissioning work at the real plant could be speeded up considerably. Examples of a suitable simulation platform and successful pre-studies of integral process and automation system dynamics are presented in the paper. Digital twins may reduce the need for written paper documents and procedure protocols. Specification of digital twins may be further speeded up and the risk of typing errors reduced whence updating the parameters, if the required attribute values in future would be made available in standardized format for instance over Internet by the relevant component suppliers. Keyword:digitalization; digital twin; integral check; dynamics; sustainable specifications
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