Digital Twin Technology in the Gas Industry: A Comparative Simulation Study

Abstract

Continuous innovation is essential in the urban gas industry to achieve the stability of energy supply and sustainability. The continuous increase in the global demand for energy indicates that the urban gas industry plays a crucial role in terms of stability, the economy, and the environmental friendliness of the energy supply. However, price volatility, supply chain complexity, and strengthened environmental regulations are certain challenges faced by this industry. In this study, we intend to overcome these challenges by elucidating the application of digital twin technology and by improving the performance of the prediction models in the gas industry. The real-time data and simulation-based predictions of pressure fluctuations were integrated in terms of pressure control equipment. We determined the contribution of this data integration to enhancing the operational efficiency, safety, and sustainable development in the gas industry. The summary of the results highlights the superior predictive performance of the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. It exhibited the best performance across all evaluation indices—mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean square error (RMSE), and the coefficient of determination (R2)—when compared with the raw data. Specifically, the ARIMA model demonstrated the lowest RMSE value of 0.01575, the lowest MAPE value of 0.00609, and the highest R2 value of 0.94993 among the models evaluated. This indicates that the ARIMA model outperformed the other models in accurately predicting the outcomes. These findings validate that the integration of digital twin technology and prediction models can innovatively improve the maintenance strategy, operational efficiency, and risk prediction in the gas industry. Predictive maintenance models can help prevent significant industrial risks, such as gas leak accidents. Moreover, the integration of digital twin technology and predictive maintenance models can significantly enhance the safety and sustainability in the gas industry. The proposed innovative method of implementing digital twin technology and improved prediction models lays a theoretical foundation for sustainable development that can be applied to other industries with high energy consumption.