Application of Digital Twins and Metaverse in the Field of Fluid Machinery Pumps and Fans: A Review

Abstract

Digital twins technology (DTT) is an application framework with breakthrough rules. With the deep integration of the virtual information world and physical space, it becomes the basis for realizing intelligent machining production lines, which is of great significance to intelligent processing in industrial manufacturing. This review aims to study the application of DTT and the Metaverse in fluid machinery in the past 5 years by summarizing the application status of pumps and fans in fluid machinery from the perspective of DTT and the Metaverse through the collection, classification, and summary of relevant literature in the past 5 years. The research found that in addition to relatively mature applications in intelligent manufacturing, DTT and Metaverse technologies play a critical role in the development of new pump products and technologies and are widely used in numerical simulation and fault detection in fluid machinery for various pumps and other fields. Among fan-type fluid machinery, twin fans can comprehensively use technologies, such as perception, calculation, modeling, and deep learning, to provide efficient smart solutions for fan operation detection, power generation visualization, production monitoring, and operation monitoring. Still, there are some limitations. For example, real-time and accuracy cannot fully meet the requirements in the mechanical environment with high-precision requirements. However, there are also some solutions that have achieved good results. For instance, it is possible to achieve significant noise reduction and better aerodynamic performance of the axial fan by improving the sawtooth parameters of the fan and rearranging the sawtooth area. However, there are few application cases of the Metaverse in fluid machinery. The cases are limited to operating real equipment from a virtual environment and require the combination of virtual reality and DTT. The application effect still needs further verification.

Digital Twins in the Marine Industry

“…In the maritime sector, DTT can expedite the development of digital representations of the marine industry. For instance, Yang et al (2022) [106] summarized the current application status of pumps and fans in fluid machinery from the perspectives of DTT and Metaverse. Research found that DTT and Metaverse technology played a crucial role in the development of new pump products and technologies, and were widely used in numerical simulation and fault detection of various pumps and other fields of fluid machinery.…”

Mapping Metaverse Research: Identifying Future Research Areas Based on Bibliometric and Topic Modeling Techniques

“…These technologies have the potential to facilitate the creation of personalized experiences, enhance decision-making processes, and enable more efficient interactions between users and the digital environment. Scholars in this cluster also stress the role of digital twins and the IoT in shaping the metaverse landscape [136][137][138]. For example, Lv et al [137] stated that digital twins provide a virtual representation of physical assets or processes, allowing for real-time monitoring, simulation, and optimization.…”

Integrating Machine Learning and Mathematical Programming for Optimisation of Electric Discharge of Machining Techniques

“…Deductive reasoning has been used because it is systematic and focused on testing hypotheses. The process begins with the development of a theoretical framework, followed by the formulation of hypotheses that have been tested through the collection and analysis of empirical data [15]. The suggested work that attempts to combine mathematical programming and machine learning to enhance EDM, is ideally suited to this method.…”