An improved model of passenger merging in a Y-shaped passage

Abstract

During the merging process in a Y-shaped passage, the walking direction of pedestrians changes, which can cause crowding and decrease the efficiency of walking facilities. Based on an analysis of interactions among pedestrians, this study conducts a series of merging simulations with an improved social force model (ISFM) to investigate the influences of various walking parameters of pedestrians in a Y-shaped passage. First, we construct an ISFM by adding a centripetal force to analyze pedestrian turning behaviors based on the basic social force model (BSFM). Second, we define simulation scenes with different angles (30°, 60°and 90°) and branch passage widths (2 m, 3 m and 4 m). Walking behavior parameters such as the walking speed, traversal time and population density in the branch passages are analyzed. The results show that as the width of the branch passage increases, the traversal time decreases and throughput increases. The turning angle has little influence on the results, but as the angle decreases, pedestrian speeds sharply fluctuate in the merging area, thereby increasing the blockage probability and prolonging the traversal time. Finally, relationships between the branch passage width and traversal time and the merging angle and speed fluctuations are proposed.