As the notion of data-driven analytics and turning data into action is becoming more salient in the construction industry, researchers and practitioners have recently devoted considerable effort to investigate the digital transformation of the industry. Along this journey, Digital Twin has been introduced to the industry as a concept that holds the promise to challenge the status-quo and address long standing problems of productivity, efficiency, and value. While this concept is becoming more familiar among practitioners, there is a lack of universal definitions of what the Digital Twin of a construction project is. Additionally, while identifying the purpose of Digital Twin is recognized as the first step in implementing Digital Twins, there is little discussion on the perception of construction practitioners of the extent to which Digital Twin can deliver value. To address these research gaps and building on the existing work on Digital Twins in the context of the construction industry, this paper first proposes a definition of the Digital Twin of a construction project. Next, a series of semi-structured interviews are conducted with nine construction practitioners to understand their perceptions on the use and challenges of Digital Twins. Thematic analysis is then used to analyze interview data and summarize Digital Twins applications, capabilities, and challenges. Forty direct applications were identified and grouped into seven capabilities. Digital Twins capabilities of Increase Transparency of Information and Real-Time Monitoring, Analysis, and Feedback were the most discussed with a total of eight applications each, followed by Better Stakeholder Collaboration which had seven applications. The discussion on challenges led to the identification of 34 challenges to implementing Digital Twin, grouped into six categories coded through thematic analysis. The category on Data Understanding, Preparation, and Usage Challenges was found to be the most critical for the interviewees. Additionally, the paper presents a case study on how building authority can be integrated into Digital Twins and leverage its use throughout the lifecycle of a building. Future work can further investigate the challenges and develop prototypes that can help in quantifying the benefits of implementing Digital Twins on a Construction Project.
This research explores the current state of Construction 4.0 and discusses a four-layer implementation of Construction 4.0 in the industry. The research methodology consists of an extensive literature review to gain insights about Construction 4.0 and frame the four-layer implementation plan. A case study is also presented to showcase the proposed implementation plan. Nine Construction 4.0 technologies were discussed, their integration throughout the project lifecycle was presented in a roadmap, their integration and connectivity with one another were outlined in an interaction roadmap, and the requirements necessary for achieving the 4.0 transformation were articulated. However, the proposed implementation plan is focused on nine Construction 4.0 technologies. The research presents a comprehensive plan for integrating Construction 4.0 technologies into the industry and serves as a guideline to help construction companies better understand the implications of Construction 4.0.
For some offshore fields, multiphase production and transport can be an economic solution. In the case of waxy crude reservoirs, keeping the light ends in contact with the stock tank oil can reduce the onset crystallization temperature. Furthermore, it has been possible to correlate these experimental data, in order to calculate the variation of the wax appearance temperature of two stock tank oils, due to the addition of a light end.
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