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Towards “Water 4.0” – Berlin Institute uses digital twin for water management

Water

TU Berlin

Berlin Germany

TU Berlin
Berlin,
Germany
Sustainability
How to ensure secure water supply and waste water treatment in times of urbanization and climate change? It is no coincidence that such an innovative project is located in Berlin. Here, the effects of urbanization and climate change are already visible. Berlin has gained almost 300,000 residents and today is home to a population of 3.6 million, a growth of 10% in just 20 years. In 2030, another 200,000 people could be added to that number. Moreover, the last few years were exceptionally hot and dry – and at the same time, forecasts predict an increasing number of heavy rainfall events. These two trends are having a particularly significant impact on waste water systems.
The digitalization provides important tools to network systems and to support novel approaches to data analysis in operation and maintenance. Some of these approaches are being studied at the TU Berlin using a demonstration plant of a sewage pumping station equipped with high-tech automation and digitalization solutions from Siemens. The solutions include the acquisition and digitalization of assets, process instrumentation, motor and pump management, the Simatic PCS 7 process control system, Comos for engineering and the simulation of plant conditions and PlantSight providing 3D visual context of the digital twin. The  point digital twin provides a single digital environment for all pumping station information, from design to operation and maintenance data, including partially autonomous systems for fault detection and troubleshooting.
Integrating intelligent tools into the demonstration plant has allowed Thamsen to implement the first innovative concepts. One application targets pump clogging by fiber residues that become entwined in waste water eddies and build up at the pump wheel. In a worst-case scenario, the pump is blocked. “With the digital twin, we can detect clogging based on operation parameters and clean the pump through reverse operation,” says Thamsen. Because the demonstration plant uses industry components that are also employed in many industrial waste water plants, new solutions can be deployed faster in the industry, Thamsen explains: “We can use our plant to demonstrate how to integrate solutions in an industry environment and show live results in the demonstration. With our digital twin, we are able to provide a hands-on demonstration of what digitalization looks like and make this complex subject accessible, including to operators in plants and to maintenance staff. This is what makes this project a true milestone for Water 4.0.”
The Hermann-Föttinger Institute Fluid System Dynamics department at TU (Technical University) Berlin is developing strategies for efficiency in the water and waste water industry. 
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