English

Urban infrastructure – bridges, roads, railways, pipelines, power transmission towers and so on – must be inspected regularly to operate safely. Imagine if we used advanced technologies available to us, such as wireless sensors, mobile apps and machine learning, to remotely inspect and maintain this infrastructure. This could eliminate the need for regular daily inspections, save time and money for engineers and asset owners, and reduce the risks of working on job sites.

 Everyone has experience of working with smart devices such as mobile phones and iPads. Using these technologies to perform technical and engineering work is a game-changer. We have been developing “digital twins” – 3D-visualisation of in-service infrastructure – to monitor infrastructure performance under various service conditions and make intelligent maintenance decisions.

 The digital model is the twin of the real infrastructure. Wireless sensors on the structure transfer performance data to our computer. We can see the performance of the infrastructure in real-time online.
This is extremely useful for engineers who need to regularly monitor the performance of infrastructure. They make critical maintenance decisions about which structural elements need to be repaired or replaced, and when this must be done, to ensure the infrastructure is safe.

Digital twins are essentially a digital replica or a virtual model of a process, product or service. The concept of creating digital twins is still relatively new for civil and infrastructure engineers.

In the Netherlands, digital twins are being developed for operation at the Port of Rotterdam. A team at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology is working on a digital model of an operating crane.

To develop digital twins for intelligent infrastructure maintenance we must integrate a variety of disciplines. These include 3D visualisation, wireless technology, structural engineering and Internet of Things. The output is a digital model of the physical infrastructure, which can be seen on a PC, tablet or mobile phone.

Looking at their smart device at home or in the office, an engineer can observe all deformations, deflections, cracks or even stresses due to various loads (such as traffic or wind). The intelligent digital twin model can also suggest appropriate maintenance decisions.

Digitalising the way we look after our infrastructure can make the process more accurate and less costly in the long term than traditional labour-intensive practices. Using a digital twin is expected to produce cost savings of 20-30%. Given the huge costs of monitoring infrastructure – in the US, bridge inspections alone cost US$1.35 billion a year – the potential savings are huge.

Which of the following represents a contrasting characteristic of digital twins?

The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and choose the correct option.

1. The remaining 50 per cent is allocated in mid- and small-cap stocks which helps in boosting the overall return.

2. Within equity, the fund prefers to invest 50 per cent in large-cap stocks, which provides stability in volatile times.

3. Considering the higher volatility in the market, the fund is following a conservative approach by tilting the equity portfolio towards large-cap stocks.

4. As on March 31, 2023, the fund has deployed around 62 per cent of its equity portfolio in large caps.

The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and choose the correct option.

1. PAs, though crucial, are not enough to conserve biodiversity.

2. One of the key targets of the first draft of the Global Biodiversity Framework published recently is to conserve at least 30% of global land and sea areas as protected areas (PAs).

3. This is especially so in the case of landscapes where PAs are not well connected, and buffer areas are largely multi-use.

4. The framework is aimed at advancing the goals of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: The development came after weeks of campaigning, with parties deeply polarised over the issue.

Members of the European Parliament (MEP) on July 12, 2023, voted to pass the EU nature restoration law with 336 votes in favour, 300 against and 13 abstentions, according to a statement by the law-making body. (1)___________ The final text will now be negotiated. (2)____________. The aim is to reach a deal before EU Parliament elections in 2024, according to news agency Reuters. (3)___________. The European People's Party (EPP), was especially opposed to the law on the grounds that it was detrimental to both farmers and food security. (4)___________.

Urban infrastructure – bridges, roads, railways, pipelines, power transmission towers and so on – must be inspected regularly to operate safely. Imagine if we used advanced technologies available to us, such as wireless sensors, mobile apps and machine learning, to remotely inspect and maintain this infrastructure. This could eliminate the need for regular daily inspections, save time and money for engineers and asset owners, and reduce the risks of working on job sites.

 Everyone has experience of working with smart devices such as mobile phones and iPads. Using these technologies to perform technical and engineering work is a game-changer. We have been developing “digital twins” – 3D-visualisation of in-service infrastructure – to monitor infrastructure performance under various service conditions and make intelligent maintenance decisions.

 The digital model is the twin of the real infrastructure. Wireless sensors on the structure transfer performance data to our computer. We can see the performance of the infrastructure in real-time online.
This is extremely useful for engineers who need to regularly monitor the performance of infrastructure. They make critical maintenance decisions about which structural elements need to be repaired or replaced, and when this must be done, to ensure the infrastructure is safe.

Digital twins are essentially a digital replica or a virtual model of a process, product or service. The concept of creating digital twins is still relatively new for civil and infrastructure engineers.

In the Netherlands, digital twins are being developed for operation at the Port of Rotterdam. A team at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology is working on a digital model of an operating crane.

To develop digital twins for intelligent infrastructure maintenance we must integrate a variety of disciplines. These include 3D visualisation, wireless technology, structural engineering and Internet of Things. The output is a digital model of the physical infrastructure, which can be seen on a PC, tablet or mobile phone.

Looking at their smart device at home or in the office, an engineer can observe all deformations, deflections, cracks or even stresses due to various loads (such as traffic or wind). The intelligent digital twin model can also suggest appropriate maintenance decisions.

Digitalising the way we look after our infrastructure can make the process more accurate and less costly in the long term than traditional labour-intensive practices. Using a digital twin is expected to produce cost savings of 20-30%. Given the huge costs of monitoring infrastructure – in the US, bridge inspections alone cost US$1.35 billion a year – the potential savings are huge.

All of the following can be inferred regarding digital twins EXCEPT:

Four jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Three of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out.

1.Where necessary with regard to the nature of the work or the working conditions in general working time may amount to an average of 40 hours per week for a period of at most four weeks.

2. Although there are large regional variations, it is not infrequent to find a large number of people sitting here and there and doing nothing.

3. Even those who are employed often come late to the office and leave early unless they are forced to be punctual.

4.Once in office, they receive friends and relatives who feel free to call any time without prior appointment.

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

 Sentence: As a result, there is less acoustic energy available to travel along the pipe.

(1)__________.The reason that sound travels such a long way in metal pipes is that the acoustic energy largely stays within the water. (2)___________. However, in plastic pipes, a lot of the energy transfers to the pipe wall where it either dissipates as heat or radiates into the surrounding ground. (3) __________To put it simply, the leak noise doesn't travel as far in plastic pipes, so the sound often does not reach the hydrophones placed along the pipe network. (4)___________.