A dynamic continuum route choice model for pedestrian flow with mixed crowds

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study develops a dynamic route choice model for pedestrian with mixed crowds. Pedestrian flow is regarded as a two-dimensional compressible continuum fluid. Then, characteristic variables are described with mathematical functions. Pedestrians are classified into two classes based on different route choice strategies: reactive and predictive dynamic user-optimal principles. Reactive pedestrians only consider the current information to choose the routes with the minimum instantaneous cost. Predictive pedestrians are assumed to know details about the future and choose routes with the minimum predictive actual travel cost. Two methods are used to solve the models. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the models and the algorithms. The numerical results show that the evacuation time of predictive pedestrians is shorter than that of reactive pedestrians. Moreover, for low-density situations, predictive pedestrians can help improve the overall evacuation efficiency. However, for high-density situations, predictive pedestrians fail to improve the efficiency.