Efficient Plant May 2020 - 35

feature | solution focus
Left. An Emerson digital-twin system has replaced
spreadsheets and allowed TGI reliability professionals to better understand current and future
conditions.
Below. The digital-twin "look-ahead" model
provides the reliability team with an exact window
of opportunity for any necessary shutdowns. This
allows maintenance crews to know exactly how
much time they have available to perform their
tasks.

monitor energy regulations from customers
and national agencies. Colombian Regulatory Entity (CREG) guidelines require that
pipeline operators communicate any restrictions or shutdowns in advance and must
also report estimated gas composition. Any
data that TGI needs can be exported at any
time to be used in reports to management,
the government, or clients.

THE FUTURE OF PREDICTION

in knowing exactly how much time they
have available to perform their tasks, and
the planning crew can schedule any maintenance activities around that timeframe.
In another instance, the team used the
look-ahead model to see what would
happen at customer delivery points when
a compressor station was brought down for
maintenance. Again, using the model, the
team was able to identify the time it would
take to reach minimal arrival pressure
at customer sites, providing them with a
window of time during which they could
work on the compressor without creating
any risk to contract obligations with those
customers.
The simulation is also extremely useful
for testing hypothetical scenarios for process improvement and disaster prepared-

MAY 2020

EP2005fsolfocus.indd 35

ness. Engineers regularly make simulated
changes to pressure and flow or install
new virtual equipment to see, in real time,
exactly how those changes will affect transportation of gas elsewhere in the pipeline.
Working with emergency crews, the reliability team also tests response plans, such
as simulating an emergency shutdown on a
compressor plant to see if low suction creates a problem for gas delivery. Responses
to emergency situations can all be designed
and tested in the simulated environment to
help keep the organization safe, efficient,
and competitive without any risk to current
operations.
TGI also uses its simulation to closely

Digital-transformation solutions work best
when they seamlessly integrate with the
operating environments they are designed
to impact. The digital twin not only
provides TGI with clear analysis of data
that the reliability team relies upon
to keep the pipeline running safely
and efficiently, but also provides the
organization a platform for future
improvements to run systems even
more efficiently.
Reliability team members are working to have the digital twin aggregate
and analyze data to predict how corrosion, buckling, and fatigue will impact the
company's real-world assets. Engineers will
use the data to predict maintenance cycles,
prevent spills, further reduce downtime,
and increase throughput.
The reliability team is also examining
options to connect the digital twin to
machine-learning algorithms that predict
future performance based on historical
data, sensor data, and the digital twin's
output. Engineers will be able to perform
even more prognostics, health management,
and predictive maintenance. From there,
machine-learning algorithms will be able to
connect with artificial intelligence systems
to directly control the asset's operations,
allowing the pipeline network to respond
almost instantaneously to changing conditions. EP
For more information, visit emerson.com.
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM |

5/1/20 10:30 AM

http://www.emerson.com http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM

Efficient Plant May 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Efficient Plant May 2020