Digital twin visualization of beam structure using strain-displacement relationship

Recently, several studies have been conducted to implement digital-twin virtual models that can present the current state of a real structure. Most digital-twin technologies are actively developed and applied in automobile fields, such as the evaluation of abnormal or unsafe conditions for braking system and vehicle driving, but not for the assessment and maintenance of civil infrastructures. Therefore, this study implemented the visualization of a beam-type structure to develop a real-time assessment tool for structural safety and management based on the digital-twin model. For this, the relationship between the strain and displacement was employed to derive the [B] matrix for the visualization of the beam in a digital-twin model. Then, the [B] matrix applies to the calculation of displacement at sensor locations installed in the beam. For verification of the strain and displacement relationship derived in the study, the displacements obtained from the [B] matrix were compared with those from the numerical analysis and experimental test. In addition, the structural finite element analysis, based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam elements, was used to verify the relationship between the strain and displacement of the beam.