Digital Twin-Enabled Infrastructures: A Bibliometric Analysis-Based Review

Digital twin (DT) as a virtual replica of a physical asset, can enhance the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of physical infrastructure. This paper aims to review scientific articles using a bibliometric analysis approach to present an overview of research trends and explore the challenges and opportunities related to DT-enabled infrastructures. Bibliographic coupling, co-authorship, citation, and keyword occurrence analysis address the study’s research questions. This review contributes to advancing the knowledge of DT and infrastructure integration while introducing the most recent trends, dominant research topics, the most used technologies with DT-enabled infrastructures, DT application in infrastructure projects, identifying gaps, and defining future research topics. Research on DT and infrastructure integration is primarily conducted in silos, implying that ideas and initiatives should be exchanged between researchers. DT application at the macro level of urban infrastructures and their management and planning will be the direction of future studies.