Systems Engineering in the development of Digital Twins

Part 2: Application in the Battery Industry

Abstract

“Digital twins” are a buzzword in the context of the digital transformation of industrial companies. Part 1 of this two-part article already examined the fundamentals of (model-based) systems engineering for the development of a lifecycle-spanning system model, which forms the information basis for a variety of digital twins. In addition, the connections between the system model and digital twins were shown and a distinction between the two terms was presented. Part 2 of this article discusses different
types of digital twins which use information from the lifecycle-spanning system model to fulfill different purposes. A distinction is made between product, production and performance twins, which can e.g. take the form of structural or simulation models. Their added value is explained using the battery industry as an example. It is shown how digital twins accelerate development and production, and this is underpinned with corresponding examples from the industrial context.