Generating a digital twin for tunneling projects during the construction phase

During a tunneling project, multiple data sources generate large amounts of data that must be analyzed for an efficient and safe tunneling operation. This is especially true during the construction phase, where a massive amount of data is generated by the tunnel boring machine (TBM) at a resolution as small as 5 seconds. Efficient tunnel construction requires integrating TBM data with the ground data and instrumentation and monitoring. Thus, a holistic, integrated platform is required, which can handle all types of data representing the single source of truth and provide an opportunity to analyze TBM-ground interaction. The model stored and managed by this platform represents the digital twin of the tunnel. In this paper, an integrated approach is presented employing the web-based process controlling software PROCON - that handles TBM data, shift records, cutter tool consumption records, ring damage information and other relevant construction data, thus connected to multiple applications for evaluating options during tunnel construction. The data is fed into and extracted from PROCON using the underlying API. The approach allows to feed and extract data from PROCON using API, thus integrating live TBM data into a 3D (or nD) BIM model environment leading to Digital Twin development. The as-built tunnel with TBM and ground data is imported into a Virtual Reality (VR) software using PROCON as an intermediate storage platform. The comprehensive dataset provides an opportunity to apply machine learning based predictive modeling to calibrate the designs and support upcoming tunneling.