Pixelating aluminium with its first plant-wide digital twin

Yusuf Latief spoke to Fangbo Liu of Shenyang Aluminium & Magnesium Engineering & Research Institute (SAMI), winners of the Bentley Systems Year in Infrastructure and Going Digital Awards, about their innovative application of digital twin tech on an aluminium plant, a first for the industry.

As part of their commitment to green development and reducing energy consumption in China’s aluminium industry, Chalco initiated a digital demonstration project for their Zhongrun Aluminium Factory.

They retained SAMI to apply digital twin technology throughout the design, construction, operations and maintenance of the plant.

The data and multiple disciplines spread across 52 sub-projects presented data integration and coordination issues. To accurately link 300GB of design and construction data with a 3D model to manage the facility, SAMI needed open modelling technology and a connected data environment.

SAMI selected Bentley applications to develop an enterprise digital factory management platform and build the aluminium industry’s first plant-wide digital twin. Bentley’s integrated applications reduced modeling time by 15%, saving more than 200 workdays.

Digitised factory operations reduced annual management costs by CNY 6 million (approximately €775,684; $820,000), unpredictable equipment failures by 40% and environmental emissions by 5%.

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When the project started, what were some of the challenges it wanted to address?

The design time for the project was very short, we’d need six months and there were many units, 52 of them, as well as 15 areas of specialisation that we needed to synergise.

This brought into question the first issue we had to address – how do we use this digital technology to design a complete factory model?

Additionally, the construction time for the project, 18 months, was very short, especially in China. This was the second challenge – how do we improve construction efficiency and quality with digital twin technology?

The third challenge came as a result of how, being such a huge project with so many production units, there was a lot of documents and immense amounts of data.

Which brought the questions – how do we integrate these data and the models and create a digital outcome for the owner, so that the property owner can check this for operations and maintenance later.

What were some of the systems that were implemented during the project and what were their results?

We used all of Bentley’s professional modules, software that was customised to resolve specific issues we may have had. The 3D design is useful in that it can involve all the disciplines.

We have our own database with data that is automatically generated so when we do the modelling it is fully attributed.

Thirdly, we have a dedicated engineering designer use the Bentley power PID software, which we use to match codes to assets, this programme’s code is like a person’s ID. This code is not created by a human but rather by the Bentley software, because the amount of data that needs to be coded is incredibly big.

During construction, we made use of software to control our progress very precisely.

With the 3D modelling, we conduct reviews and inspections and optimise our design solutions. This is done to reduce space used, which will be needed later during upgrades. This efficiency allows for more space for operations, equipment and maintenance.

With digital technology, we developed an unmanned system for hidden facilities inspection, including an underground pipeline, which allows us to very quickly identify which part of the pipeline might have issues.

We integrated with VR technology to provide training for emergency response and emergency evacuation. The VR proved a very intuitive way of doing these tasks, which can otherwise take more manpower and time than necessary.

Lastly, we have a digital twin of the full factory model where we can quickly look at the factory, the main facilities, the status of energy consumption, the environment’s status and the positioning of people and vehicles. The company’s ERP (enterprise resource planning) can also be inputted into this as well.

What do you see as the future of digital twins in the sector?

To completely remove the necessity of having human beings physically be in the factory to operate.

This could be done through a display console and terminal where we can read and access key data of the factory. And in the future, as AR technologies evolve, this could also allow for more precise forecasting of production, allowing for us to more accurately control conditions and materials to make sure that my output is consistent.

This is a big future goal – full remotely controlled operations. Right now, in the key areas, it can already be done.

What do you think would be a timeline for making that happen?

Let’s look at it this way: To get from traditional 2D designs and drawings to 3D, it took us three years.

From 3D to digital construction and deliverables, we took approximately five years.

But getting to the next stage, where property owners of the plant can take this tech and use it, where everything can be remotely controlled, it still depends on the development of artificial intelligence.

I’d like to say five years but it depends.

But, like I said before, in key areas, it can already be done. It can be done in terms of equipment, where we can already do unmanned, remotely controlled inspections to observe a lot of key information about the factory and its operations.

And this alone has already disrupted our traditional ways of factory management.

Shenyang’s Liu and his team won the award within the power and process generation category during the Bentley Year in Infrastructure and Going Digital Awards 2023, hosted in Singapore.

Other categories included transmission & distribution, bridge & tunnels, subsurface modelling & analysis, surveying & modelling, water & wastewater, structural engineering, roads & highways, rail & transit, construction, enterprise engineer and facilities, campuses & cities.