New: Print optimization of cleanrooms during ongoing operation

The data of the volume flow and room pressure controllers in the customer's production room were also transferred into the virtual model.

Compare measurement data with the simulation.

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Michael Kuhn, Head of the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Energy, Environmental, and Cleanroom Technology, Lecturer in Cleanroom Technology, and Chairman of VDI 2083-19.

The digital age is transforming our daily lives. Planning, construction, optimization, and qualification of cleanrooms require in-depth engineering knowledge. These complex relationships can now be represented with the help of STZ EURO through simulation calculations. This promises faster, cost-optimized, and precise design phases, realization, and commissioning of cleanrooms and laboratory rooms of higher classes.

STZ EURO in Offenburg has been working with simulation models of climate and ventilation technology for many years. Therefore, the engineers at STZ EURO are very familiar with the capabilities and precision of engineering simulation calculations. By simulating a pneumatic room pressure control system used by a pharmaceutical primary packaging manufacturer, the company was able to further demonstrate the performance and accuracy of their calculations.

At the customer's site, the filter system and the room pressure control circuits of the entire climate and ventilation system in the cleanroom area were optimized. By capturing the physical model and operational data on-site and importing them into the simulation program, the real project could be compared with the digital world. The results were surprisingly good:

The comparison of the virtual replica with the real measurement data held up at every stage. The cleanroom model was tested during door openings and when switching the dust extractor on or off, and each time compared with the measurement recordings taken on-site. Minor deviations were due to unknown parameters, such as room airtightness to adjacent rooms and internal damping elements of the pneumatic controller.

"The room pressure behavior, especially pressure peaks and regulation behavior, can be plausibly reproduced virtually," says Michael Kuhn, head of STZ EURO and project manager. "This allows the room pressure and regulation behavior to be checked and optimized during the design phase. It also supports very precise planning in advance. With the digital twin, functions can be tested, possible optimizations tried out, and commissioning simulated within a virtual environment."

The simulation of cleanroom solutions is primarily of interest to planners, plant builders, and building automation according to STZ EURO. The method is especially suitable for room airtightness classes starting from level 3, as real testing and leak detection can often be very laborious. Additionally, access to the cleanroom must sometimes be restricted for other trades during real tests, which is often very difficult in practice due to time pressure and the priority of production equipment.

The advantage, according to Michael Kuhn, is clear: "The time factor that a thorough simulation offers us is unbeatable. We can identify and avoid errors early in the detailed planning stage. Unsuitable control concepts and incorrectly dimensioned plant components can be recognized and optimized early. The control parameters determined during the virtual commissioning are available as pre-settings for the real commissioning. This allows the cleanroom operator to go into production promptly or even earlier."

STZ EURO is already working on applying virtual commissioning to temperature and humidity control circuits and testing this by comparing with the operational data of real systems.