Application of DEM-Based Crowd Behavior Simulator with Switching Action Behavior Model

Abstract

A switching action behavior is studied to simulate an evacuation scenario where evacuees are required to change their destination toward another evacuation area due to the capacity limitation of the existing evacuation area. This scenario is indisputably can happen in any evacuation. For example, when the designated evacuation area is fully occupied with the preceding evacuees, the trailing evacuees have to change their directions to another evacuation area. Recent literature studies show the change in destination has never been taken into account in any evacuation modeling. Here, the main concern is to model the switching action behavior and simulate a change in destination of evacuees. In order to describe a person who has to change his/her destination due to the limitation of space capacity of the evacuation area, this contribution proposed a switching action behavior model for the simulation of CBS-DE. The existing CBS-DE was extended to include the switching action behavior algorithm. In this model, the switching action behavior was defined based on the motion of other persons in the perception domain. In reference to the perception domain of the person i, if the number density of persons in the perception domain is greater than 9 and the average walking velocity of those persons in the perception domain is less than or equal to 1.0 m/s, the switching action function is activated. Once the switching action function exceeds the critical switching action time Fsw,c, the person i will change his/her direction. In the current contribution, the newly developed switching action behavior model was validated through sensitivity analysis in which the primary attention is to obtain a realistic switching action behavior. A model parameter, named perception-response time αsw, was calibrated in order to obtain an appropriate switching action behavior. The sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the impact of the model parameter on the output of switching action behavior. On the other hand, a contact force which is acting on each person is a significant output from the conducted simulations. Hence, to validate the calibrated model parameter, contact force acting on each person needs to be within the safe level. This will be achieved by comparing simulation results with the previous experimental results. Further applications of CBS-DE with switching action behavior model were performed on different conjectural scenarios of the evacuation process. The focal interest is to witness the performance of the switching action behavior model by demonstrating the change in destination in the evacuation process.