Project description
A16 Rotterdam: an 11-kilometre-long national motorway between the A16/A20 at Terbregseplein and the A13 at Rotterdam The Hague Airport. With earth walls, a semi-sunken tunnel through the Lage Bergse Bos, sound screens, and sound-dampening asphalt, the energy-neutral A16 Rotterdam will be one of the best integrated motorways in the Netherlands.
TWIN16
Infranea was commissioned by De Groene Boog to work on creating the so-called TWIN16 – the digital twin of the entire route including the tunnel. A Virtual Reality (VR) environment was the basis for TWIN16, which was created entirely using a 3D design and BIM models. This VR environment was kept up-to-date during all project phases so that the most current version was always available.
Virtual testing
The TWIN16 was used to verify and test the EMAT plans during the preliminary design phase. And it was also used by the operators and other stakeholders to validate the user processes according to the National Tunnel Standard (LTS). Subsequently in the detailed design phase, the virtual behaviour in TWIN16 was further elaborated and a link was made with the actual software for the operational control of the tunnel. This was the foundation for starting ‘virtual testing’. The link was used in later phases to carry out all system tests. This resulted in lower failure costs and higher quality software.
Education, Training, and Exercise
TWIN16 will go on to serve as a system to provide the operators and other stakeholders with education, training, and practice.
CCTV camera validation
The environment is also used to determine all of the settings for the installation components without the need for the actual physical environment (tunnel). This includes the positions and preset settings of all CCTV cameras in and near the tunnel. Infranea provided a dynamic and parametric design solution based on TWIN16 plus the 3D design and BIM models. This allows us to capture the positions of the CCTV cameras consistently across all design tools and verify sight distances and angles early on within the TWIN16. In so doing, we were able to introduce a First Time Right process to the project.
TWIN16 was also used as the basis for the A16 Driving Simulation game that can be experienced at the Expo A16 Rotterdam, the interactive experience centre for this project. For more information, see: A16 Driving simulation game.
