Framework for facility management of bridge structures using digital twins

The maturity of Digital Twin (DT) models has evolved in the aerospace and manufacturing industries; however, the construction industry still lags behind. DT technology can be applied to achieve smart management through the entire life cycle of structures. Particularly for bridge structures, which play an essential role in any transportation system and can have high maintenance demands throughout their long life spans. In this study, a literature review on DTs was performed, from the origins of the concept until current best practice focused on bridges. Especially concerning structural analysis and facility management, few studies that employ DT for bridges were encountered. The main challenges identified are related to treatment of the large amount of data involved in the process, mostly gathered from different platforms. Finally, a framework for smart facility management of bridges using DTs was proposed to tackle potential solutions.