PSI - Issue 84

Enrico Pasquale Zitiello et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 84 (2026) 360–367

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layer is the data connection and management infrastructure, which includes all the protocols, platforms, and IT systems necessary for the acquisition, transmission, archiving, and standardization of information flows from the field. This layer ensures interoperability between the different devices and models, information continuity, and data security, constituting the connecting element between the physical and virtual worlds. At the pinnacle of the architecture is the virtual level, which represents the computational core of the Digital Twin. It consists of the integration of BIM information models and high-fidelity numerical models, particularly finite element models, in which the former manages the technical details of the project and the relationships between its components, while the latter describes the physical and structural behavior of the system(4). The integration of these models with data analysis techniques and artificial intelligence algorithms allows for the development of diagnostic indicators, simulation of evolutionary scenarios, and support for real-time operational decisions. In this framework, the information flow takes on a circular configuration: the physical asset generates data, which is transmitted to the virtual model that interprets it through engineering models and advanced analysis tools, and the resulting information is returned to the real system in the form of operational recommendations or maintenance strategies, configuring the Digital Twin as a cognitive system capable of learning from the behavior of the project (5)(1). The growing diffusion of the Digital Twin in the construction sector has, however, generated some interpretative ambiguities due to its apparent overlap with BIM. Scientific literature agrees in considering the two concepts as distinct, while acknowledging a strong functional

Fig.1. Visualisation of the bibliometric network generated using VOSviewer.

connection (6). BIM constitutes the structured information base upon which the Digital Twin can be built, providing a geometric and semantic description of the facility. The Digital Twin, however, differs in its dynamic and operational