Evacuation simulation of a high-rise teaching building considering the influence of obstacles

Abstract

High-rise teaching buildings are complex public buildings integrating the evacuation risk of teaching buildings and high-rise buildings. In this regard, studying the evacuation characteristics of high-rise teaching buildings is paramount for a safe and fast evacuation. In this paper, we first analysed whether the obstacles in the classrooms would be beneficial to the overall evacuation. Obstacle and obstacle-free models of a high-rise teaching building were constructed and simulated using the Pathfinder software. The simulation results of the two models were compared and analysed in terms of the evacuation time and evacuation conditions on the main floors. The physical mechanism where obstacles influence the evacuation process was analysed considering the evacuation density and path. This influence was further investigated using the obstacle model by varying the number of evacuees, assigning safety exits, and changing the obstacle settings. The results showed that a dense and regular arrangement of the desks as obstacles in the classrooms could yield a more reasonable evacuee density distribution while playing a positive role in physically segregating and diverting the crowd and restricting the evacuation path. Thus, the overall evacuation time in the obstacle model was lower than in the obstacle-free model. However, this positive impact varied to different degrees when varying the number of people and obstacle setting and the constraints of the stairway capacity. The evacuation time could be further reduced by designating safety exits for some people and changing the arrangement of the obstacles by considering the behavioural characteristics of people walking alongside. Our research showed that standard evacuation order, reasonable arrangement of the desks in the classrooms, and obstacle-free evacuation passageways are conducive to evacuation management in high-rise teaching buildings. We suggest improving the evacuation drills for a more rational distribution of the evacuation routes and for a more scientific designation of the evacuation exits.