Creation of a chemical-technological system digital twin using the Python language

Abstract

Currently, when modeling complex technological processes in cyber-physical systems, procedures for creating so-called "digital twins" (DT) have become widespread. DT are virtual copies of real objects which reflect their main properties at various stages of the life cycle. The use of digital twins allows real-time monitoring of the current state of the simulated system, and also provides additional opportunities for engineering and deeper customization of its components to improve the quality of products. The development of the "digital twin" technology is facilitated by the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is characterized by the massive introduction of cyber-physical systems into production process. These systems are based on the use of the latest technologies for data processing and presentation and have a complex structure of information chain between its components. When creating digital twins of such systems elements, it is advisable to use programming languages, that allow visualization of simulated processes and provide a convenient and developed apparatus for working with complex mathematical dependencies. The Python programming language has similar characteristics. In the article, as an example of a cyber- physical system, a chemical-technological system based on a horizontal-grate machine is considered. This system is designed to implement the process of producing pellets from the apatite-nepheline ore mining wastes. The article describes various aspects of creating a digital twin of its elements that carry out the chemical-technological drying process in relation to a single pellet. The digital twin is implemented using the Python 3.7.5 programming language and provides the visualization of the process in the form of a three-dimensional interactive model. Visualization is done using the VPython library. The description of the digital twin software operation algorithm is given, as well as the type of the information system interface, the input and output information type, the results of modeling the investigated chemical-technological process. It is shown that the developed digital twin can be used in three versions: independently (Digital Twin Prototype), as an instance of a digital twin (Digital Twin Instance), and also as part of a digital twins set (Digital Twin Aggregate).