Simulation of Pedestrian Evacuation in University Canteen Based on Cellular Automata

Yongxing Li,Ke Wang,Meng Meng,David Z W Wang

doi:10.1109/access.2019.2939230

Yongxing Li, Ke Wang + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2019.2939230

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Abstract

In this study, we firstly build up an exit choice model to describe the pedestrians' exit choice behavior in a specific place, i.e., university canteens. The pedestrians are assumed to minimize their evacuation time in choosing exits by explicitly considering the estimated evacuation time and effects of pedestrians' destinations. In addition, the behavior of food tray return is also captured in the proposed route choice model for pedestrians. Fusing the exit choice model and the route choice model into a cellular automata (CA)-based pedestrian simulation model, we simulate the pedestrian evacuation process in university canteen and the results illustrate the effectiveness of the modeling framework in terms of describing the evacuation process in university canteens. Specifically, destination is identified as a key influence factor for pedestrian evacuation, and pedestrians tend to select the exit that is closer to their destinations. If it is required to return the food tray to designated spots before leaving the canteen, the evacuation efficiency is significantly reduced. The simulation result can also assist in determining the optimal number of tray-return spots if maximum evacuation efficient is to be achieved. In presence of the specific parameter settings and canteen layout in the case study example, it is recommended to deploy four tray-return spots in the university canteen.

Highlights

As is well known, pedestrian evacuation is a common phenomenon at many pedestrian gathering places [1]–[4] such as rail transit stations, shopping malls, bus stations, cultural activity centers, etc
There are very few researches in the exiting literature focusing on pedestrian normal evacuation simulation in university canteen
The contributions of this work can be summarized in the followings: (1) An exit choice model is proposed with the minimum evacuation time, wherein the evacuation time is estimated with explicit consideration of the effects of tray-return and pedestrians’ destinations; (2) In the evacuation process, all available routes are analyzed and a route choice model considering pedestrian preference is proposed; (3) We present the layouts with two or four tray-return spots, and analyze the respective evacuation efficiency

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Pedestrian evacuation is a common phenomenon at many pedestrian gathering places [1]–[4] such as rail transit stations, shopping malls, bus stations, cultural activity centers, etc. Evacuation process of university canteen involves many dynamic behaviors such as exit choice, route choice, conflict avoidance, walking preference. These dynamics behaviors significantly affect evacuation safety and efficiency and need to be further studied. There are very few researches in the exiting literature focusing on pedestrian normal evacuation simulation in university canteen. In some university canteens in China, pedestrians are required to return the food trays to designated spots. Transition probability of pedestrians choosing exit B is calculated as

EXIT CHOICE

Findings

CONCLUSION