Digital Twin Technology for Sustainable Industrial Operations
Keywords:
Digital Twin, Sustainable Operations, Industry 5.0, Industrial Sustainability, Cyber-Physical Systems.Abstract
Digital Twin technology has emerged as a strategic enabler for sustainable industrial transformation by integrating physical operations, virtual representations, predictive analytics, and sustainability-oriented decision support into a unified cyber–physical environment. This study aims to develop and analytically evaluate a comprehensive Digital Twin framework capable of supporting sustainable industrial operations through the integration of operational efficiency, energy performance, resource optimization, and system resilience dimensions. A non-empirical system design approach was employed to construct a multilayer architecture consisting of physical operation, data acquisition, communication and synchronization, digital twin modeling, analytics and optimization, and sustainability decision-support layers. Technical evaluation was conducted through model-based simulation and analytical assessment using standardized sustainability and operational indicators. The findings demonstrate that the proposed framework strengthens operational visibility, predictive maintenance capability, energy efficiency, resource utilization, responsiveness, and resilience through continuous interaction between physical and virtual environments. The analysis further indicates that Digital Twin integration facilitates circularity, sustainability governance, and Industry 5.0 readiness by enabling adaptive and data-driven industrial decision making. The study contributes a holistic conceptual framework that advances the understanding of Digital Twin technology as a sustainability-enabling infrastructure for future industrial systems.
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References
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