Simulation technology is no longer solely used by engineers to design better products and reduce the costs of physical testing. Leading organisations are expanding the use of simulation into operations by creating digital twins – virtual representations of individual operating assets whose performance and productivity can be improved dynamically through simulation technology. Coupling the rich sensor data from increasingly smart industrial equipment with the predictive power of simulation, specific operating conditions can be analysed and failure points predicted, unlocking billions of dollars in production and maintenance optimisation.
Digital twins can live with the asset, providing a dynamic self-teaching model used to optimise its performance in conjunction with an IIoT platform. This combination of machine learning, coupled with physics-based modelling, enables organisations to see how their products performed in the past and predict the future simultaneously. Using ANSYS to create model-based digital twins will provide a foundation to scaling the benefits of the IIoT. This is no longer a theoretic concept as ANSYS and GE Global Research are already demonstrating actual implementation of digital twins, like the GuardEon Moulded Case Circuit Breaker, a powerful low-voltage circuit breaker designed for global industry applications. By using ANSYS software, GE engineers are able to study and test complex physics at a level of detail that was impossible to achieve through physical testing.
Eric Bantegnie, ANSYS vice president, said: “Pairing physics and analytics models via the digital twin is essential to providing our customers with the 360 degree insights they need to create competitive advantage in a rapidly changing world.”
Through this collaboration, ANSYS will work with GE Digital, GE Global Research and GE’s industrial businesses to expand and integrate ANSYS’ leading physics-based engineering simulation and embedded software development platform with GE’s Predix platform to power digital twin solutions across a range of industries. Scaling digital twin solutions from the edge to the cloud will accelerate the value of ANSYS simulation, drive Predix adoption and open new opportunities to explore disruptive business models and commercial relationships.
“We are building the digital industrial ecosystem to drive better outcomes for our customer through the Predix platform,” said John Magee, chief marketing officer, Predix. “We are pleased to work with ANSYS to scale model-based digital twin solutions on Predix to provide our customers with new insights that were not possible before.”
