The shipping industry is now able to test advanced and integrated systems before installing them through the Open Simulation Platform, launched in 2018 by DNV GL, Kongsberg Maritime, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and SINTEF Ocean.
Accordingly, the OSP uses the digital twins concept and includes a large set of interconnected models and components.
DNV GL’s Research Programme Director Øyvind Smogeli, who is managing the project on behalf of the partners, comments
A digital twin component would include engineering models of the equipment physics and control system software, as well as emulated control system hardware, human–machine interfaces, and control panels, making it possible to perform virtual commissioning, configuration and testing in a collaborative effort on the platform.
Smogeli adds that the digital twin concept cannot monitor or detect system failures in complex systems or forecast the effect of changes to software. The OSP’s ability to assess emergent properties represents the next-level digital twin.
For example, an engineer can conduct a software update for a thruster, which on the first place may be fine in isolation but if not tested in an OSP environment, it could have a mission-critical impact through other systems on the vessel. Such system issues are difficult to deal with and typically lead to expensive downtime for ships and rigs.
Therefore, the OSP is able to resolve these challenges by incorporating engineering models and the actual control system software from all manufacturers into the digital twin.
Svein Kleven, Senior Vice President at Kongsberg Maritime states
The Open Simulation Platform is an open-source software code and will be a game changer for the industry when it comes to the utilization of simulation tools and virtual prototyping as an integrated part of the value creation process.
In light of the positive assets of the OSP, DNV GL will construct a Core Simulation Environment (CSE) which will combine legacies with new standards from the automotive industry.
Mr Smogeli informs that
The CSE will be launched as open source to the industry in 2020, in order to drive standardization and enable companies to work on the same basic platform.
Moreover, the OSP ecosystem will be hosted on DNV GL’s open industry data platform Veracity.
For the time being, the partners are developing three use cases to provide users a taste of how an OSP platform works; Thus, the cases include the design of a hybrid ferry propulsion system, virtual commissioning of a coastal service vessel, and planning of a subsea crane operation.
Concluding, the digital twin technology is an advantage for the shipbuilding sector, as it will enable engineers use computer aided engineering (CAE) programs to design a vessel, or its components, and precisely plan each stage and element.
