ADVANTAGES AND FEATURES OF USING DIGITAL TWIN TECHNOLOGY FOR STATIONARY GAS ENGINES

At the moment, there is no mass alternative to power plants based on an internal combustion engine. Such power plants are fully mastered in production, they are mobile, not bulky, and do not depend on weather conditions (wind, current, etc.), as required by wind and hydroelectric power plants. The variety and availability of fuels is also a very big advantage in favour of internal combustion engines. On the other hand, engines are a source of heat, noise and chemical pollution, and by running on fossil fuels, they contribute to negative climate change on the planet, so the issue of improving the fuel, economic and environmental efficiency of vehicle engines is relevant. With the rapid development of information technology, it is now possible to create a perfect control system for stationary engines using digital twin technology, which in the future could take over the entire task of controlling the unit with minimal human intervention, eliminating the effect of the human factor and thereby increasing the life and efficiency of the unit. The goal is to use the forecasting system to assess the actual technical condition of the engine and, based on this data, set the optimal maintenance intervals, as well as prevent accidents that entail expensive repairs or even complete replacement of the unit. Such a system would be relevant for large, expensive stationary machines involved in any technological processes where the unit's downtime entails financial losses associated with the cessation of a particular production process. Representatives of this type of power plant are gas engines - drives for booster or downhole gas compressors, gas generators operating on landfill gas or biogas.