IDP completes the digitalisation of the aquifer of the port of Barcelona

IDP completes the digitalisation of the aquifer of the port of Barcelona

IDP has completed the implementation of a Digital Twin for the Environmental Control of the Aquifer in the south zone of the Port of Barcelona.

Digital Twin of Environmental Control implementation represents a future commitment to manage the infrastructure of the Port of Barcelona in terms of maintenance and dredging operations, as well as a tool that would implement the monitoring of different environmental parameters (aquifer, soil, water or atmospheric data) or other monitoring parameters. It allows the integration of available 3D data on representations of geographic information systems and will generate a digital twin of the port based on the BIM methodology.

BIM methodology (Building Information Modelling) provides a multidimensional model of a building or infrastructure with the information of its elements, which adds the time and cost dimensions that are usually within the domain of other instruments within the organization. Beyond the design and planning phase, the asset information is updated throughout its life cycle, so that the status of all elements can be accessed in real time, and according to the information available on the date, so that it can become the backbone of the management of these assets from a single platform.

A Digital Twin is a virtual representation of the physical infrastructure that is used to reflect complex systems, such as the aquifer, with a large number of data from geophysical campaigns carried out in the different phases of the southern enlargement of the Port of Barcelona, and allows the analysis of simulation results to identify, predict and commission actions in real time. The digital platform makes it possible to test port designs and alternative operating concepts without the need for physical implementation. For example, in the case studied, it will make it possible to know exactly the location, in 3 dimensions, of the aquitard (a package of clays that separates the deep aquifer from the surface aquifer) in order to avoid affecting it during the dredging operations that have to be undertaken to improve the operability and competitiveness of the Port of Barcelona.Digital Twin implementation helps to improve the decision making in strategic aspects, which supposes a saving of costs and time.

The possible applications of a Digital Twin for the Port of Barcelona are the following:

  • Management of 3D data indicating the exact conditions and geographical data of the port (geographic information systems and objects with spatial tributes).
  • Improve quality and risk management in infrastructure maintenance tasks.
  • Support for processes to optimize the maintenance costs of port infrastructures.
  • Management of the life cycle of the infrastructures from the data that is updated in the Digital Twin.
  • Unify in a single platform the geometrical and constructive information, along with the monitoring and control information, allowing fast or automated updating of data and comprehensive management of the infrastructure.

The Digital Twin application allows the Barcelona Port Authority to increase the competitiveness of the harbour, improve the services offered and the decision-making processes, as well as reducing the cost of information management (acquisition, processing, standardization, exchange, storage and visualization).