A Hierarchical Integrated Modeling Method for the Digital Twin of Mechanical Products

Abstract

With the development of information and communication technology, massive amounts of data are generated during the entire lifecycle of mechanical products. However, their isolated and fragmented state hinders further empowerment of smart manufacturing. Digital twins have attracted considerable attention as they enable a user to rebuild all elements of a physical entity in a virtual space, targeted at the effective fusion of data from multiple sources with different formats, while its modeling method still needs further research. In this context, we propose a native, full-element digital twin modeling method for mechanical products. This ontology-based method establishes a unified and computer-understandable model framework for mechanical products by abstracting the essential content and relationships of data and by storing them in a graph database efficiently. The developed model could serve as a data center for the entire lifecycle of the product or could be combined with existing data management systems, integrating the previously isolated, fragmented, and scattered data on various platforms. In addition, the model utilizes the structural characteristics of mechanical products and is developed as a hierarchical digital mapping to better meet the application requirements. Finally, a case study of a helicopter digital twin is presented to verify the proposed method.