Creation of a digital twin of a building to support the development of an intelligent control core

Project: Borealis

Type: Building simulation

Supervision: Dr Sascha Hammes, M.Sc., Assoc. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rainer Pfluger

Start: immediately

Period of activity/scope: 6 months

Fee: 2500€ + 2500€ success fee

Language: German or English

Project content and motivation

The aim of the master's thesis is to develop a simulation model of a building that serves as the basis for testing and optimising a provided control core and ultimately acts as the basis for a digital twin. In particular, individual rooms of the civil engineering building at the University of Innsbruck are to be modelled in great detail in order to create realistic conditions for testing control algorithms. The simulation environment is to be continuously improved in the long term by successively integrating the data collected in testbeds. The control algorithms are not included, but the provision of corresponding output data is.

The motivation for the project lies in the growing importance of digital twins and data-based and self-learning control systems in building management. The combination of highly detailed simulation and advanced control solutions should ensure energy efficiency and comfort targets.

Possible research question: How can a highly detailed simulation model of building spaces be developed and optimised to serve as a precise basis for testing and improving data-based control systems in building management?

Workflow and methodology:

• Research suitable simulation software in consultation with the project team (e.g. EnergyPlus, TRNSYS, or comparable tools).
• Development of a simulation environment for a building model, with a focus on detailed modelling of individual rooms (e.g. material properties, sensors & actuators). Modelling of physical processes and technical systems (e.g. heating and lighting systems).
• Validation of the simulation environment using defined test cases.
• Integration of collected testbed data into the simulation environment to continuously improve the accuracy of the model. The collection of testbed data is not part of the work.
• Documentation of the methods developed and the results achieved.

Acquired qualification:

• Knowledge in the development and optimisation of simulation models for building systems.
• Expertise in the integration and processing of real test data in virtual environments.
• Experience in working with simulation software and physical modelling approaches.
• Understanding of the interface requirements with third-party applications
• Skills in the systematic validation and optimisation of technical models.

If you are interested, please contact:

Dr Sascha Hammes, M.Sc.
Faculty of Engineering Sciences, AB Energy Efficient Building

Assoc. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rainer Pfluger
Faculty of Engineering Sciences, AB Energy Efficient Building