• Multi-level digital twin modeling via model reduction and FMI integration. • Real-time deformation and stress analysis for complex structures. • Wing structure simulations achieve computational speed up to 10 Hz. In recent years, digital twin has garnered sustained and significant attention, emerging as a pivotal technology for the aircraft structural integrity. The core objective of an airframe digital twin is to enhance the efficiency of design, verification, operation and maintenance through real-time, interactive simulation of physical aeronautical structures across their full life cycle. In typical applications, such as virtual testing and individual aircraft tracking, digital twin models are required to rapidly predict structural deformation and detailed stress distributions under test or operational loads. Consequently, lightweight deployment and real-time simulation are desired. This study proposes a multi-level digital twin modeling method for real-time deformation and stress analysis. The approach employs physically consistent homogenization and multiscale modeling for global-level structural simplification, coupled with data-driven reduced-order models for stress analysis of local details. These models are then integrated into a hierarchical model via the Functional Mock-up Interface, enabling real-time predictions of overall structural deformation and multi-detail responses under external loads. Validation on a composite wing structure with a 3.5-meter span demonstrates that the proposed model achieves a computational speed of up to 10 Hz, while maintaining accuracy in the regions of interest consistent with the high-fidelity model. This method represents a key technology for deploying digital twins of complex aircraft structures and exhibits considerable application potential.
Lu et al. (Sun,) studied this question.