AquaVip@RWTH: Practical and theoretical implementation of research topics at the hardware-in-the-loop test bench
The evaluation of energy efficiency of water management systems is a major challenge due to an increasing complexity of potable water systems. In addition to energy efficiency, systemic consideration and control strategies, services in particular are also of significant importance in the digital world of potable water management. With the Viega Cube and the integrated AquaVip potable water management system at the E3D facility at RWTH Aachen University, these future-oriented topics are to be investigated with the help of various methods.
The AquaVip@RWTH project is specifically targeting the digital focus in potable water management. Already the construction of the cube was realized within the project using Building Information Modeling (BIM) with the aim to create a digital twin next to the actual building. This was initially created as an as-built BIM model and, building on this, became a digital image of the real cube by linking it to monitoring data. The digitization of the cube enables comprehensive real-time monitoring with web-based display and analysis tools, which use the stored additional information to investigate scientific questions on the one hand and to evaluate the practicality of digital commissioning and services through augmented reality applications and error detection systems on the other.