The digital transformation of engineering assets has been receiving increased attention from the scientific community in the last few years. In this regard, Digital Twins (DTs) have been widely applied in the industry and are now reaching the civil infrastructures domain. At the same time, infrastructure managers face an increasing need to improve the sustainability and resilience of their assets. This paper aims firstly to map and present the current extent of DT application in rail and road networks, and secondly to perceive how these applications can contribute to increase their sustainability and resilience. To achieve this, the authors propose a systematic review on the DT literature related to rail and road infrastructure networks. The results show that the DT research in this domain is still scarce and that only a few use cases have attracted the attention of the scientific community. The results also indicate that most applications in rail and road networks focus on their operation and maintenance, and that there is a considerable unexplored potential for DT applications in this sector. More DT-related studies within this scope are expected to emerge in the coming years, and further research regarding its contribution to sustainability and resilience is needed.

While digital twins (DTs) have achieved significant visibility, they continue to face a problem of lack of harmonisation regarding their interpretation and definition. This diverse and interchangeable use of terms makes it challenging for scientific activities to take place and for organisations to grasp the existing opportunities and how can these benefit their businesses. This article aims to shift the focus away from debating a definition for a DT. Instead, it proposes a conceptual approach to the digital twinning of engineering physical assets as an ongoing process with variable complexity and evolutionary capacity over time. To accomplish this, the article presents a functional architecture of digital twinning, grounded in the foundational elements of the DT, to reflect the various forms and levels of digital twinning (LoDT) of physical assets throughout their life cycles. Furthermore, this work presents UNI-TWIN—a unified model to assist organisations in assessing the LoDT of their assets and to support investment planning decisions. Three case studies from the road and rail sector validate its applicability. UNI-TWIN helps to redirect the discussion around DTs and emphasise the opportunities and challenges presented by the diverse realities of digital twinning, namely in the context of engineering asset management.

Many studies and technology companies highlight the actual or potential value of Digital Twins, but they often fail to demonstrate this value or how it can be realised. This gap constitutes a barrier for infrastructure asset management organisations in their attempt to innovate and incorporate digital twinning opportunities in their decision-making processes and their asset management planning activities. Asset management planning activities often make use of existing value-based decision-support tools to select and prioritise investments in physical assets. However, these tools were not originally designed to consider digital twinning investments that also compete for funding. This paper addresses this gap and proposes a value-based analysis for digital twinning opportunities in infrastructure asset management. The proposed analysis method is tested with three rail and road infrastructure case studies: (i) real-time monitoring of a power transformer; (ii) BIM for the design, construction, and maintenance of a new railway line; and (iii) infrastructure displacement monitoring using satellite data (InSAR). The study shows that the proposed method provides a conceptual construct and a common language that facilitates the communication of digital twinning opportunities in terms of their relevance in different contexts. The proposed method can be used to support the investment decision-making process for investments in both physical and non-physical assets and help derive maximum value from the limited available resources.

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry requires strategies to digitalize the built environment. These strategies need to facilitate the development of as-is models from existing repositories and databases, making the management of this information more efficient throughout the asset’s life cycle. One methodology frequently applied in AEC is Building Information Modeling (BIM), which allows the creation of digital replicas of the built environment. To test the advantages of BIM in the management of railway infrastructures, a BIM-based plugin was developed to facilitate the visualization and manipulation of a repository containing BIM models of several railway tunnels. The article elaborates on the methodology adopted in the development of the plugin, as well as the management process it supports. The advantages of centralizing various types of data in a shared 3D model are also discussed, not only in terms of communication and data sharing between various stakeholders, but also regarding decision-making processes and the planning of inspection/intervention activities throughout the assets’ life cycle. O setor da Arquitetura, Engenharia e Construção (AEC) necessita de processos de suporte à digitalização do património construído que facilitem o desenvolvimento de modelos as-is a partir de repositórios de informação alfanumérica e geométrica existentes e consequentemente tornem a gestão dessa informação mais eficiente ao longo do ciclo de vida do ativo representado. Uma metodologia frequentemente aplicada no setor AEC é o Building Information Modelling (BIM), que permite criar réplicas digitais do património construído. Com o objetivo de testar as vantagens da metodologia BIM para as estratégias de manutenção das infraestruturas ferroviárias existentes, foi desenvolvida uma extensão de aplicação em plataformas de base BIM de suporte à gestão de um repositório de modelos de túneis ferroviários e uma interface gráfica para facilitar a sua manipulação. O artigo elabora sobre a metodologia adotada no desenvolvimento da extensão BIM, assim como no processo de gestão por esta suportado. Também são discutidas as vantagens de centralizar vários tipos de informação num modelo 3D partilhado, não só em termos da comunicação e partilha de dados entre vários colaboradores, mas também relativamente à tomada de decisão e ao planeamento de ações de inspeção/intervenção ao longo do ciclo de vida do ativo representado.