Simulating the dynamical features of evacuation governed by periodic vibrations

Abstract

Abstract Emergency evacuation often occurs in extremely adverse environments, such as on a shaking floor vibrated by seismic waves or water waves, whereas present work seldom takes this into consideration. Thus, based on an improved social force model (SFM), the influence of wave-induced fluctuations on evacuation dynamics is investigated. The driven wave is simplified as a periodic sinusoid characterized by a peak value and period length. Intriguingly, fluctuations can substantially weaken the famous “faster-is-slower” effect. That is, trying to move faster, namely, increasing the desired velocity, always facilitates evacuation. Moreover, there exist combinations of moderate peak values and large period lengths, resulting in the minimum evacuation efficiency. It is also worth noting that the increment of extreme panic induces the “collapse” of social norms, which eventually leads to heavy casualties. Our work thus can provide insight into pedestrian dynamics in shaking environments and help plan effective evacuation routes.