Holistic System Analysis Using Digital Twins

Write your awesome label here.

FREE WEBINAR

12pm-1pm

45 mins +
15 mins Q&A

5 March 2025

 About

 Webinar Program

 Presenter

We are pleased to invite you to the webinar on Holistic System Analysis Using Digital Twins.

Join us for an exclusive, free HERA members-only webinar on 5 March at 12pm, where Professor Carsten Schulz, a global expert in holistic system analysis, will explore how digital twins are transforming engineering design, system performance, and sustainability. 

Holistic system analysis goes beyond individual compontents – it looks at the bigger picture of engineering systems such as machinery and bridges. By evaluating and understanding the system in its entirety, it considers interactions, dependencies, and the performance of all system elements, alongside external factors that may influence outcomes. This approach helps engineers optimise design functionality, reliability, and safety throughout the system's lifecycle by reducing material use and improving service life. 

This webinar is a must-attend for engineers looking to enhance their system processes, predictive maintenance strategies and sustainability efforts. In particular, mechanical and structural engineers, FEA simulation experts, vibration engineers and other professionals with interest in the field. 

Holistic system simulation has been identified as a critical expertise area required to address research gaps in optimising bridge designs. It focuses on holistic optimisation through system simulation and flexible multibody analysis.

Key objectives include:
  • minimising material consumption;
  • maximising the service life of all components;
  • reducing maintenance efforts;
  • minimising embodied carbon (carbon footprint); and
  • evaluating the impact of design proposals on fabrication costs.

This webinar will provide an in-depth exploration of digital engineering and the role of digital twins in modern product development. Topics include:

✅ The capabilities of digital engineering
✅ The concept and significance of digital twins in contemporary product development
✅ Case studies on the application of digital twins, focusing on:

  • lifetime calculation;
  • predictive maintenance;
  • design optimisation; and
  • insights into applying holistic analysis to a wide range of engineering systems, including structural, transport (vibration), and machinery applications.

This program is part of a broader collaboration involving HERA partners such as AUT, the University of Auckland, the University of Michigan, and the University of Regensburg. 

Professor Carsten Schulz | University of Applied Sciences Regensburg

Professor Dr Carsten Schulz is a leading expert in holistic optimisation and multibody simulation, heading the Laboratory for Multibody Simulation and Computer-Aided Engineering at the University of Applied Science Regensburg, Germany.  

With an academic background in aerospace engineering at Dresden University of Technology (Dipl.-Ing.), and as a scientific assistant at the Chair of Machine Elements at the same university, he completed his PhD (Dr.-Ing.) on the Holistic System Analysis of Bucket Wheel Drivetrains.  

Professor Schulz oversees the Bachelor's program in Digital Mechanical Engineering, which aligns with his pioneering research. Additionally, he co-founded the research group Digital Twin, in collaboration with Professors Thomas Schaeffer and Florian Nützel, working alongside 10 partner companies to advance the field.  

As part of his current sabbatical at AUT, Professor Schulz has been working closely with the HERA team on a joint research program with KiwiRail aimed at standardising and improving the design of railway bridges. He co-founded the Digital Twin research group, collaborating with 10 partner companies to advance this field. 

Course Lessons