Abstract
Statistical analysis of accidents in recent years shows that crowd crushes have become significant non-combat, non-environmental public disasters. Unlike common accidents such as fires, crowd crushes may occur without obvious external causes, and may arise quickly and unexpectedly in otherwise normal surroundings. We use physics-based simulations to understand the processes and consequences of compressive forces on high density static crowds consisting of up to 400 agents in a restricted space characterized by barriers to free movement. According to empirical observation and experimentation by others, we know that local high packing density is an important factor leading to crowd crushes and consequent injuries. We computationally verify our hypothesis that compressive forces create high local crowd densities which exceed human tolerance. Affected agents may thus be unable to move or escape and will present additional movement obstacles to others. Any high density crowd simulation should therefore take into account these possible negative effects on crowd mobility and behavior. Such physics-based simulations may therefore assist in the design of crowded spaces that could reduce the possibility of crushes and their consequences.
Highlights
With the increase of large-scale social activities such as sporting events, religious gatherings, and music concerts in recent years, the issue of crowd safety has been gaining considerable attention, since there is a significant potential for injuries and even death
Such physics-based simulations may assist in the design of crowded spaces that could reduce the possibility of crushes and their consequences
Compressional asphyxia due to excessive crushing of the lungs of some victims; An individual falls down, is trampled by other people, and is unable to stand up again
Summary
With the increase of large-scale social activities such as sporting events, religious gatherings, and music concerts in recent years, the issue of crowd safety has been gaining considerable attention, since there is a significant potential for injuries and even death. Accidents with crushes or stampedes occurred between 2006 and 2016, in which 4011 people were killed and more than 6346 people were injured [1]. These disasters have significant social impacts, there is a relatively low probability that they occur. Compressional asphyxia due to excessive crushing of the lungs of some victims; An individual falls down, is trampled by other people, and is unable to stand up again. Fruin [2] explained, that virtually all crowd deaths are the result of compressive asphyxia and not “trampling” that is often reported in the media. It is very important to investigate the physical characteristics of a crowd when crushing happens
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