Digital Twin of an Internal Combustion Engine

Unlock the Future: How Digital Twins are Revolutionizing Internal Combustion Engine Development

Theo Raines in Tech & Innovation September 2025 • 4 min read.

"Cut costs and development time with virtual engine testing using digital twins – the technology transforming the automotive industry."

In today's fast-paced industrial landscape, the pressure to innovate quickly and efficiently is higher than ever. For the automotive industry, this means finding ways to develop and test internal combustion engines (ICEs) faster and at a lower cost. Enter digital twin technology—a game-changing approach that's transforming how engines are designed, tested, and optimized.

Digital twins are virtual replicas of physical systems, processes, or products. They allow engineers to simulate real-world conditions, test different scenarios, and identify potential issues before they ever manifest in a physical prototype. This technology is rapidly gaining traction in the development and production of internal combustion engines, offering unprecedented opportunities to enhance performance, reduce development time, and cut costs.

Traditionally, developing and testing ICEs has been a complex and time-consuming process. It involves extensive physical prototyping, rigorous testing under various conditions, and iterative design improvements. However, digital twins are changing the rules of the game by providing a virtual environment where engineers can experiment and optimize engine designs without the limitations and expenses of physical testing.

What Makes Digital Twins the Key to Next-Gen Engine Design?

Digital Twin of an Internal Combustion Engine

Digital twin technology offers a comprehensive and integrated approach to engine development. Unlike traditional methods that rely on physical prototypes and isolated testing, digital twins provide a holistic view of the engine's behavior, allowing engineers to understand the interplay between different systems and mechanisms. By creating a virtual replica of the engine, engineers can:

Simulate complex processes: Digital twins use mathematical descriptions to model the intricate processes within the engine, including combustion, gas dynamics, heat transfer, and mechanical interactions.

Test under various conditions: Engineers can subject the digital twin to a wide range of operating conditions, from cold starts to high-speed runs, without the need for physical testing facilities.
Optimize performance: By analyzing the simulation results, engineers can identify areas for improvement and optimize engine parameters to enhance performance, fuel efficiency, and emissions.
Predict potential issues: Digital twins can help predict potential failures and identify design flaws early in the development process, reducing the risk of costly rework and delays.
Reduce development time and costs: By replacing physical prototypes with virtual models, digital twins significantly reduce the time and expense associated with engine development and testing.

One of the key advantages of digital twin technology is its ability to integrate data from various sources, including sensors, simulations, and historical records. This integration provides a more complete and accurate picture of the engine's behavior, allowing engineers to make informed decisions and optimize engine designs with greater confidence.

The Road Ahead: Embracing Digital Twins for a Sustainable Future

Digital twin technology is poised to play an even greater role in the future of internal combustion engine development. As engines become more complex and regulations become more stringent, the ability to simulate and optimize engine designs in a virtual environment will be essential for meeting performance, efficiency, and emissions targets. By embracing digital twins, the automotive industry can accelerate innovation, reduce costs, and create more sustainable and efficient engines for the future.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1109/glosic.2018.8570162, Alternate LINK

Title: Digital Twins Technology For Internal Combustion Engines Development

Journal: 2018 Global Smart Industry Conference (GloSIC)

Publisher: IEEE

Authors: A. A. Malozemov, V. N. Bondar, V. V. Egorov, G. A. Malozemov

Published: 2018-11-01

Everything You Need To Know

How does digital twin technology transform the development of internal combustion engines?

Digital twin technology creates virtual replicas of physical systems, like internal combustion engines. This allows engineers to simulate real-world conditions, test various scenarios, and pinpoint potential issues before physical prototypes are even built. This approach allows comprehensive and integrated engine development compared to traditional methods that rely on physical prototypes and isolated testing.

What specific capabilities do digital twins offer for the design and testing of internal combustion engines?

Digital twins in internal combustion engine development leverage mathematical descriptions to model intricate processes, simulate testing under various conditions, optimize performance, predict potential issues, and reduce development time and costs. These models include combustion, gas dynamics, heat transfer and mechanical interactions. This contrasts sharply with older methods, which were slow and expensive.

How does data integration enhance the effectiveness of digital twins in engine development?

Digital twin technology integrates data from sensors, simulations, and historical records to provide a complete view of an internal combustion engine's behavior. This holistic perspective enables engineers to make better-informed decisions and optimize engine designs with greater confidence compared to relying solely on physical testing or isolated data points.

What are the main advantages of using digital twins to reduce the costs associated with developing internal combustion engines?

By using digital twins to replace physical prototypes, the automotive industry can achieve reduced development time and costs when creating internal combustion engines. The approach allows for early identification of design flaws and enables engineers to experiment and optimize designs in a virtual environment, avoiding the expenses tied to physical testing. The technology also enables sustainable solutions, ensuring a future of sustainability and efficiency.

In what ways will digital twin technology shape the future of internal combustion engine development?

Digital twins will enable simulation and optimization of engine designs in a virtual environment, which will be essential for meeting performance, efficiency, and emissions targets. This is becoming crucial because engines are becoming more complex, and regulations are increasingly stringent. The implication of embracing digital twins is that the automotive industry can accelerate innovation and create more sustainable, efficient internal combustion engines.