Experimental Study on Evacuation Process Considering Social Relation in a Tall Building

Abstract

Elevator evacuation has been considered in high-rise building evacuation in the world, especially in China. Elevator safety has been widely studied for this purpose and technical standards are also available in different countries. However, it is critical to understand human behaviors in elevator evacuation before elevators can be used in building evacuation. It is expected that social relation (family, friend, classmate, etc.) will play an important role on evacuation behaviors. However, researches are largely missing on social relation and its impacts on movement and behaviors of the evacuees. This paper aims to investigate the crowd evacuation considering social relation. An evacuation experiment is conducted in a 11-storey office building. Participants who take part in the experiment include individuals, families and lovers. Evacuation behaviors especially decision-making as well as important factors affecting evacuees’ choices are discussed. Movement characteristics of evacuees in the stair are also analyzed. It is concluded that family members will take actions, such as take elevators or stairs, together. Females and evacuees in poor condition prefer to take the elevator during evacuation. Many pairs or small groups may be formed owing to social relations. The groups take more time to make decision. The members in small groups may block the traffic and slow down the speed of the crowd. Evacuation efficiency changes greatly considering small group behaviors and social relations. Experimental results are helpful for determining the effective rules and regulations in elevator evacuation in high-rise buildings.