Digital Twin for Solar Plant Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Solar power plant operations management remains largely digitized, leading to inefficiencies in operations and maintenance, with potential for cost savings and yield gains through digital transformation, particularly in tasks like thermography and maintenance scheduling.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a processor to digitize physical assets by creating physical and logical models, mapping elements, attaching data, creating workflows, and providing an interface for infrastructure-asset information, enabling efficient operations and maintenance through a computerized dashboard or mobile application, leveraging UAVs for data acquisition and processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional manual methodologies are used for operations and maintenance, then simplicity of operation is maintained, but productivity and operational efficiency are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital twin (virtual copy) of the physical solar power plant that mirrors its structure, components, and operational state. This digital replica enables virtual inspections, simulations, and maintenance planning without interfering with actual plant operations, thereby improving productivity while managing complexity through information-based rather than physical means.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection methods with automated digital technologies including sensors, drones, and data analytics platforms. These systems automatically collect, process, and analyze plant data, substituting human physical labor with automated computational systems that increase operational efficiency while reducing manual intervention requirements.
2Loss of time
If manual inspections are performed, then ease of operation is maintained, but loss of time for inspections increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous real-time monitoring and data collection systems that continuously gather operational data from sensors and plant components. This preliminary action ensures that inspection data is already captured and prepared before actual inspection needs arise, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual data collection during inspection events and enabling rapid analysis and decision-making.
3Productivity
If digital transformation is implemented, then productivity and operational efficiency are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent develops an integrated digital platform that serves multiple functions including data collection from diverse sensors, real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, maintenance scheduling, and collaborative workflows. This universal platform consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate systems, improving maintenance efficiency while managing complexity through a unified multi-functional architecture that handles various operational needs through a single integrated system.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of useful for digitizing a physical of assets includes the step of, with a processor of a mobile device, obtaining a set of information from an infrastructure of assets from the set of information. The method includes the step of generating a physical model of the infrastructure of assets. The physical model comprises a set of the vectors representing each of the individual physical elements within each asset. The method includes the step of generating a logical model of the infrastructure of assets. The logical model comprises a description of a connection between an element in the physical model to each other object of the physical model. The method includes the step of mapping each element of the logical model to at least one element of the physical model. The method includes the step of acquiring and attaching data to an element of the logical model to an element of the physical model. The method includes the step of creating a workflow and associating the workflow at least one element of the physical model or the logical model. The method includes the step of providing an infrastructure-asset information with a map-based interface. The infrastructure-asset information comprises information about each asset of the infrastructure of assets. The method includes the step of creating a set of views. The set of views is combined with any data associated with a relevant element of the physical model or logical model. The set of views is viewable via a computerized dashboard application.