The Engineering and Construction (E&C) industry has vast potential to leverage technology for solving current asset management issues, with significant environmental and financial benefits. This study investigates the use of Digital Twins (DTs) for asset management of civil structures, identifying a gap between the perceived potential of DTs and practical applications due to misconceptions, industry fragmentation, and lack of standardizations. To address this, a literature review and experimental programs were conducted, leading to the development and validation of a proof-of-concept DT platform applied to two case studies. The study concludes with a purpose-driven DT roadmap to address the gap between potential and practical applications in the E&C industry.

Background: the integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and DTs for asset management in construction offers a promising solution to improve current processes, which are often time-consuming or inefficient. With technology rapidly advancing and the advent of Industry 4.0, there is a growing belief in the transformative potential of DTs to address longstanding challenges within the industry. By leveraging these innovative tools, stakeholders aim to enhance operational efficiency, optimize maintenance practices, and ultimately revolutionize infrastructure asset management.

Aims and objectives: this study aims to investigate the use of DTs to improve asset management processes within the E&C industry. The objectives include a thorough investigation of DTs, establishing their purpose within the industry, proposing a replicable DT methodology, demonstrating the methodology through case studies, and addressing the gap between potential and practical applications to promote DT dissemination.

Methodological approach:

i. Identify problem: thorough literature review and DT investigation (Paper I).

ii. Define solution: understand the purpose of DT applications in E&C (Paper II).

iii. Methodology and Demonstration: propose and demonstrate a replicable DT methodology through experimental work, digital modelling, and case studies (Papers III, IV, and V).

iv. Evaluation: propose a purpose-driven DT roadmap to evaluate the impact of applications, address the gap between potential and applications, and promote widespread DT adoption (Paper VI).

Results: the main results include a deep DT investigation, experimental work with a reinforced concrete beam, snow galleries and a trough bridge, digital models using BIM and finite elements, a scalable DT platform methodology demonstrated in two case studies, and a roadmap from conclusions and lessons learned to promote DT adoption in the industry.

Conclusions: given the particularities of the E&C industry and its assets, DTs can primarily benefit asset management and maintenance processes by enabling real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and data integration for improved safety and efficiency. To address the gap between potential and practical applications, two paradigm shifts are proposed: shifting the perception of DTs from a digital model to integrated technology tools, and adopting a generalizable, purpose-focused approach instead of context-specific frameworks.