CD-adapco Blog Simulation-led design and operations

Of the many phrases and terms used to describe developments in digital technology, one that very clearly captures the essence of how this can be harnessed in the world of engineering design and operations is the "digital twin." In essence, the digital twin is the building of computer-based models that replicate real-world behavior and responses including mechanical, electrical, structural, fluid or hydraulic and chemical. Building a digital twin provides the means to design, validate, optimize and operate a component or product, engineering system, manufacturing process or production facility in the virtual world.Learning in the digital environment has immense value, whether this is at the early design stages or during operation. It enables better-informed decisions to be made, risks to be quantified and managed and time and costs to be saved. This was heard very clearly at our recent 2017 North America Energy and Process Simulation conference in Houston, Texas. It was fantastic to hear a wide range of Siemens Industrial Software users, with the focus on our STAR-CCM+® software CFD tool, from across the full spectrum of oil and gas, energy and process industries. The messages that we heard from our CFD users regarding the value of simulation included:Validating a design or troubleshooting problems in operation is a good use of simulation, but it's even better to predict performance and explore many designs and operating conditions in order to avoid troublesSimulation enables investigation at full scale and under conditions that can sometimes be difficult, if not impossible, to test physicallyUncertainties increase risk and cost including from over-engineering and design; simulation can decrease uncertaintyAll of the above points underpin the value of having a digital twin of a component or system from design to operation.So what does this mean to the oil and gas industry? During the Houston conference, we heard examples ranging from how drilling contractors can learn quickly using simulation, how floating production facility response can be captured and how subsea production system design can be accelerated.The use of engineering simulation technology in the oil and gas industry is not new; however, the way it has been deployed has tended to be to verify and validate designs and decisions, rather than to lead and inform them. Using simulation to verify designs does have benefits but there is the possibility that we find out the following when it is too late to do something about it:Performance does not meet requirements There were opportunities to make improvementsWe can truly transform the design process by using simulation much earlier in the cycle to innovate and explore design space and options available. Using simulation to lead the design process, to explore what is possible and to inform design decisions is the key to unleashing the true value of simulation. As was discussed at the recent conference, "make your mistakes and learn in the digital environment, it is much cheaper than offshore!"Being able to predict equipment behavior gives us greater understanding to make informed decisions. But we can still go another step further by incorporating design-space exploration. In design-space exploration, we introduce the use of simulation automation and software-embedded algorithms to search the design or operating options available. This enables us to more rapidly identify designs, or indeed a variety of designs, that meet our requirements and constraints (which could combine technical and commercial requirements). The value of moving towards the use of simulation to lead the design and decision-making process is its ability to communicate, qualitatively, how the value of simulation is increased when used to explore our options, rather than only to validate and troubleshoot.In making the move towards simulation-led design and operations, simulation technology must be better integrated into design and engineering activities. The more that we integrate simulation within the wider engineering processes, the greater the opportunity to realize its value.At Siemens Industrial Software, we believe the digital twin is the future for engineering design, manufacture and operations. Simulation will be at the heart of this, and in my next blog I intend to continue this discussion, so do come back soon.Products: STAR-CCM+®