Requirements and Process Design for Digital Twin of a Process Plant

The lifecycle of each successful product, process, or service begins with a collection of its requirements which represent the expression of customers’ needs. An appropriate requirements definition is therefore indispensable for high-quality results by preventing wrong turns and reducing the cost of change, both of prototypes and production tools, and ultimately the warranty costs. Requirements must be unambiguous, clear, unique, consistent, stand-alone, measurable, verifiable, and traceable. Coming from software engineering, a derived concept called application lifecycle management (ALM) has evolved rapidly as a new key constituent in the field of product lifecycle management (PLM). By definition of a tooled framework, the generation and tracing of a common metamodel related to a product, process, or service become possible. Functional and non-functional requirements are collected by using a systems modeling tool and subsequently enriched with further technical information. We extend the definition of requirements to the basic process which refers to the different phases of the product lifecycle: design, production, and operation. Therefore, this chapter formulates a consistent and detailed approach to define the requirements for digital twins of a process plant and derive a process model. In focus lies the transition of a requirements model, represented by a structure of functional and non-functional requirements in a matrix, to a flexible, multidimensional process model modeled in the Cameo Systems Modeler. Within the methodology explored in this chapter, a model to describe interdependencies between the tangible and intangible components as well as between the main contractor and subcontractor was implemented and the expected results were discussed including the different roles of two partners involved in the generation of the digital twin. Finally, future trends and needs for requirement engineering and its further integration with modern lifecycle management approaches are outlined.