USING A DIGITAL TWIN FOR TERMINAL MANAGEMENT

Floyd Baker from Antea USA explains how a digital twin improves maintenance, reliability, and asset integrity management for storage tanks and terminals A digital twin, a virtual model of a physical object, is not a new technology; as a concept, it has been around for years. Yet, in the usage of asset integrity management (AIM) for oil and gas or petrochemical storage tanks and terminals, digital twin technology is evolving rapidly. It is a critical piece in the increasingly common movement towards digital transformation as many plants and facilities turn to laser mapping or 3D modelling to digitalise their assets. The positive impact of digital twins on inspection planning, maintenance costs, turnaround, revenue generation, and safety are substantial and rapid in their return.   APPLICATIONS FOR MECHANICAL INTEGRITY OF STORAGE TANKS AND TERMINALS A digital twin as applied to AIM for storage tanks and terminals helps eliminate information silos and consolidate all asset data into a single version. All data from disparate sources – including 2D and 3D modelling, point cloud data, smart piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), process flow diagrams (PFDs), laser...