By Nidhi DhullReviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.Oct 3 2024A recent article published in Sustainability introduced the experimental application of DT4SEM (Digital Twin approach for seismic and energetical monitoring) for building safety and well-being. A team of operators from BIG srl (an academic spinoff of the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria), Sysdev (a startup), Berna Engineering srl (a company), and ACCA Software spa (a web application), all based in Italy, worked on this project.
Study: Digital Transformation in the Construction Sector: A Digital Twin for Seismic Safety in the Lifecycle of Buildings. Image Credit: New Africa/Shutterstock.com
Background
The construction sector is undergoing a deep but slow digital transformation by adopting emerging technologies as priority instruments. Simultaneously, new goals and opportunities are emerging for this sector, such as minimizing its environmental impact and emissions, reducing economic and extra-social costs, optimizing resource use, improving energy performance, and enhancing the durability and service life of buildings and components in their lifecycle.
Systemic and scalable inventions are necessary to overcome conventional modalities and fully exploit the digital frontier. This will help rapidly adopt sustainable processes in the face of mounting vulnerability to natural disasters, extreme weather, and seismic events.
Among various emerging innovations, the digital twin (DT) is revolutionary for the construction sector. It can improve decision-making processes and simulate and support sustainable actions at technical, economic, and procedural levels. However, the successful implementation of DT technologies depends on data availability and the ability to collect, format, and process them for a specific application.
Methods
DT4SEM, an implementation of the maintenance management model (MMM), was upgraded through research activities dealing with the innovative governance of the built environment performed over several years by the authors. It was recently implemented in the PRESMA Infinity (design, execution, and maintenance of the digital model for the DT of the “Infinite Building”) BIM (building information modeling) Project funded by the Italian government.
DT4SEM comprised interconnected systems of an as-built BIM model, a smart-sensor system (SHBox®) with the Internet of Things, and a collaborative cloud computing and storage platform (usBIM.IoT produced by ACCA Software spa).
Reggio Calabria, a six-story building at Viale della Libertà 28, was chosen to apply the current prototype of DT4SEM. The building's load-bearing structure consists of reinforced concrete pillars and beams. A seismic detection sensor system linked to a BIM model was installed in the building.
Two gateways and 85 multi-sensor nodes based on the LoRaWAN (long-range wide area network) protocol were installed and configured to maximize building coverage. Thus, monitoring and analysis were performed at structural element and building scales.
Each multi-sensor node was identifiable through three-dimensional BIM coordinates. Before installing these nodes, the geometry, structure, and properties of structural elements were analyzed according to the point-cloud concept and relative redundancy principle. Notably, these were glued with rapid structural acrylic adhesive on the artifact surface to be monitored.
Results and Discussion
After installing the DT4SEM infrastructure in the selected building between November 2023 and April 2024, an accurate and efficient calibration process for the multi-sensor nodes has followed since May 2024. Additionally, in-depth tests were started to validate the quality of the sensor node settings.
The software platform was examined and configured to process data gathered by the installed multi-sensor nodes, replacing unaligned and non-communicating sensors. Consequently, the verifications and setting tests yielded positive results, confirming the system's total scalability. Thus, the system can support any increment in the number of sensors and users.
Operation of DT4SEM and the corresponding monitoring functionalities will be started shortly after the deep renovation project is completed in autumn 2024. The researchers plan to install two 1905-cm monitors in the two stairwell entrances for real-time data visualization and DT navigation. In addition to the sensor data, the monitors will display the last alert issued relating to the seismic events.
The current prototype of DT4SEM is at the Technology Readiness Level 9 (TRL9), representing successful operations in a real environment and ready for complete commercial deployment. This infrastructure proves the potential of DT in transforming and optimizing building management and controlling a building’s safety and security operations through real-time monitoring. Moreover, it guarantees automated alerts for rapid intervention when anomalies are detected by any sensor and scheduling maintenance.
Conclusion and Future Prospects
Overall, the researchers successfully demonstrated the working of a DT4SEM prototype, confirming the potential of DT in accelerating the digital transformation of the built environment. The preliminary results exhibited the effectiveness of the DT method in issuing early warnings about structural issues. Moreover, the virtual DT4SEM model could visualize and simulate different scenarios, facilitating informed and timely decision-making for building management.
Future upgrades of DT4SEM will aim to widen its adoption in the building sector, optimizing and controlling the carbon footprint of existing constructions and enhancing decarbonization processes. The seismic monitoring application demonstrated in this study and future data monitoring feedback can promote the evolution of smart buildings into intelligent buildings.
Journal Reference
Lauria, M. & Azzalin, M. (2024). Digital Transformation in the Construction Sector: A Digital Twin for Seismic Safety in the Lifecycle of Buildings. Sustainability, 16(18), 8245. DOI: 10.3390/su16188245, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/18/8245
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