Digital Twins for the Validation of Road Tunnel Controllers

Abstract: In the development of road tunnels, the design of a correct and safe supervisory controller is a crucial task. Such a controller is responsible for the proper cooperation between tunnel components, especially during emergencies. An important step in the design of a controller is validating that it functions correctly. One of the most prominent validation methods is simulation. Here, the controller is connected to a virtual copy of the system to run through possible scenarios while observing the response of the controller. In this paper, the advantages of incorporating a digital twin, i.e. a digital copy of the physical system, in the model-based engineering method are discussed. These advantages work both ways: a digital twin is more easily created when an unambiguous description of the plant is available, and a controller can more intuitively and extensively be validated when a digital twin is available. In a case study pertaining to a road tunnel in the Netherlands, the Swalmentunnel, it is shown how a controller and a digital twin, for the purpose of validating the controller, are developed, and how they are connected. Furthermore, it shows what additional tunnel controller aspects can be validated compared to classic validation methods.