To help reduce industry’s environmental footprint, EPSYL-ALCEN’s teams of physicists design and operate digital twins. Dassault Systèmes’ simulation tools are used to be more frugal with energy and use less raw materials in the most demanding sectors such as aerospace, energy and healthcare. Interview with Thibault Ardhuin, Manager of Epsyl’s Toulouse office, and Nicolas Baillot d’Étivaux, Head of the Data Science and Modeling Unit.
Sustainability: a key driver of environmental and digital strategies
Decarbonization of industry is no longer an option, and simulation is a major asset for developing the potential of the digital twin. Industry is aiming to become carbon neutral by 2050. This means reconsidering the processes inherent in a product’s entire lifecycle in order to minimize its impact by simulating what actually happens before moving on to the manufacturing stages. Generating and simulating the activity of a virtual double means that the right materials can be chosen and their impact measured, among other things. “Digital simulation lets us take a more detailed approach to aging phenomena in each component and how they impact the overall operation of an industrial facility », Thibaut Ardhuin says.
Epsyl rounds out this physics-based approach with statistical and machine learning analysis.
«We make correlations between all the influencing parameters and measured data. This lets us improve the performance and durability of components and start actively reducing materials use », Nicolas Baillot d’Étivaux explains.
ITER project: generating electricity without creating any carbon emissions
The result of a worldwide collaboration involving 35 countries, the ITER program centralizes all their resources to achieve a major ambition: to reproduce on Earth the unlimited energy that powers the sun and the stars. ““Epsyl’s teams modeled a thermal regulation system for the reactor”, Nicolas Baillot d’Étivaux explains. The teams had a single ambition: minimize fuel consumption and maximize output. To meet the project’s ambitious goals, they used a systems engineering software …
