Egress Components Research Articles

Characterizing egress components for wheelchair users in dormitory building fires

People with disabilities are among the most vulnerable groups in building fires. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, an estimated 700 home fires involve people with physical disabilities each year. In parallel, the National Fire Protection Association estimates that 11% of civilian fire deaths were people with disabilities. Despite these statistics, the current body of literature shows few studies focused on the evacuation of disabled people. To bridge this knowledge gap, this paper presents findings on the evacuation processes of wheelchair users in a low-rise apartment (dormitory) building. More specifically, we simulate 1–3 wheelchair users in a dormitory building at our home institution via 327 simulations to examine evacuation time as well as identify structural aids and barriers. As a byproduct of this research, a new dynamic structural ranking system of egress components is proposed for wheelchair users, and a series of suggestions for structural modifications to improve the egressibility of the simulated building are provided.

Fire Evacuation of Elderly in High-Rise Residential Buildings in India

Abstract The move towards high-rise buildings in metro cities to accommodate an increasing population has various cons. In high-rise buildings, fire is a huge disaster. According to global statistics on fire accidents in high-rise buildings, elderly persons are the most vulnerable, as they are less likely to respond swiftly and evacuate than other inhabitants. To address this concerns, this research will examine the behaviors of older occupants in high-rise buildings during a fire and their perceptions of egress components. The study also inquired the elderly to come up with disaster solutions based on their knowledge and experience. Environmental-behaviour research methods have been used to detect elderly issues in high-rise residential buildings in India. In this study, it was found that their vulnerability is a big factor in their lack of knowledge and awareness about fire, as well as their limited mobility, low vision, hearing loss, insecurities, and behaviour when there is an emergency. The study also revealed that the behaviour of the elderly is different from that of the rest of the people during fire. This entails taking into account the specific needs of the elderly during fire management. This research can further assist policymakers in upgrading fire safety regulations to make them more effective and inclusive.

Modelling and finding optimal evacuation strategy for tall buildings

The construction of many tall buildings has brought increased interest in building regulations for timely evacuation. The 9/11 terrorist attacks and the recent fire event in Glenfell Tower in London raise concerns about the effectiveness of evacuation strategies of tall buildings. Thus, a method for finding an optimal evacuation strategy for tall buildings was proposed enabling people to use the available egress components in an optimal way. The introduced method took into consideration the stochastic nature of people’s behaviour, modelling the randomness in decisions of people, and the capacities of egress components. The considered building evacuation procedure required using stairs, evacuation lifts, and refuge floors, where a state-of-the-art evacuation process was modelled. The results indicated that the problem should be considered as multi-objective taking into account the total evacuation time, and the number of people waiting on their floors to start the evacuation in the building. As a case study, a 56-story building with 5400 people was tested, which resulted in a complete evacuation within the period of one hour. Also, the equations for modelling the pre-movement time of people for office buildings were identified enabling the calculation of discharge rate of people during evacuations in tall buildings. The explained modelling approach and subsequent analyses are useful for building designers and should be utilised to examine evacuation design performance of any tall building.

Passenger Mobility in a Discontinuous Space: Modelling Access/Egress to Maritime Barrier in a Case Study

The present study analyses a transport system in a discontinuous space. Classical specifications of transport models cannot be applied directly when evaluating the influence of territorial discontinuity and related barriers on user behaviour. Adjustments are required for this specific case because studies relative to discontinuous spaces are limited. The influence concerns the different travel components (access, barrier, on board, and egress) and could impact travel choices (departure time, destination, mode, and path). In this paper, the models refer to access and egress components with a focus on the mode of travel choice level. The paper focusses on the influence of discontinuity, introducing some adjustments to the classical demand models used to simulate discontinuity crossing. The main variables influencing the user’s choice, and their relative weight in discontinuous space, are investigated. These elements are fundamental for any planning and design procedures to improve the quality of mobility. In the paper, the case study of the Strait of Messina in southern Italy is analysed. In this case, the barrier is constituted by the sea that physically separates the two shores. In this work, only strait crossings via hydrofoil, from Reggio Calabria to Messina, are considered in random sample interviews.

Performance evaluation of refuge floors in combination with egress components in high-rise buildings

In recent decades, the number of high-rise buildings has increased. It is therefore essential that emergency evacuation should be taken into account for conditions such as fire, explosion, and terrorist attacks. This research aims to evaluate the performance of the emergency egress components in the architectural design of high-rise buildings. This assessment includes the number and location of stairs and elevators, and most importantly, the number and dimensions of the refuge areas. The main question of this study is: What is the relationship between the number of elevators and emergency stairs with the number and location of refuge areas in a high-rise building for finding the optimal time of emergency egress? In this research, the simulation and modeling methods are used as well as the library data collection method. The research considers 12 different scenarios to investigate the optimal time of emergency egress in a 40-storey high-rise office building. The simulations are done using an algorithm written by the Pathfinder software. The independent variables are the number of elevators, stairs, and refuge floors, and the dependent variable is the most number of people left in the standard time of an hour in the simulation. Results of the research show that in a 40-storey building, having a refuge floor in the middle, will allow more people to be evacuated. That could be feasible by making less nodes in the refuge floor plan that prevent the formation of long queues for the use of elevators.

Modelling total evacuation strategies for high-rise buildings

This paper focuses on the use of egress models to assess the optimal strategy in the case of total evacuation in high-rise buildings. The model case study consists of two identical twin towers linked with two sky-bridges at different heights. Each tower is a 50-floor office building. The use of either horizontal or vertical egress components or a combination of them is simulated. The egress components under consideration are stairs (either 2 or 3 stairs), occupant evacuation elevators, service elevators (available or not for the evacuation of the occupants), transfer floors and sky-bridges. Seven different evacuation strategies have been tested which consider the total evacuation of a single tower. The evacuation scenarios have been simulated with a continuous spatial representation evacuation model (Pathfinder). In order to perform a cross validation of the model results, two strategies involving the evacuation using stairs or occupant evacuation elevators have also been simulated using a fine network model (STEPS). Results refer to the analysis of total evacuation times. The simulation work highlights the assumptions required to represent the possible behaviours of the occupants in order to qualitatively rank the strategies. The lowest evacuation times are obtained simulating strategies involving the sole use of occupant evacuation elevators and the combined use of transfer floors and sky-bridges. This study suggests that the effectiveness of evacuation strategies involving the combination of stairs and elevators significantly decreases in high-rise buildings if they are not combined with appropriate messaging/signage to guide occupants in their behaviours.

Fire evacuation in high-rise buildings: a review of human behaviour and modelling research

A review of literature related to fire evacuation in high-rise buildings was carried out with the following objectives, (1) to identify the key behavioural factors affecting the performance of people during a fire in a high-rise building, the singularities associated to this type of buildings and areas of future research; (2) to review the procedures and strategies currently adopted in high-rise buildings; (3) to review and analyse the capabilities of evacuation models by reviewing their current characteristics and applications in the context of high-rise building evacuations. The review included both findings on human behaviour in high-rise buildings and modelling techniques and tools. Different categories of building use were taken into account, namely office buildings, residential buildings and health care facilities. The individual or combined use of different egress components was analysed. Egress components include the use of stairs, elevators as well as alternative means of escape (e.g., sky-bridges, helicopters, etc.). The effectiveness of the egress components is strongly affected by the building use and the population involved. The review shows that evacuation models can be effectively employed to study relocation strategies and safety issues associated with high-rise buildings. The suitability of egress models for high-rise building evacuations is associated with their flexibility in representing different egress components and complex behavioural processes. The review highlights that there is not a definitive model to be used but that the predictive capabilities of evacuation modelling techniques would be enhanced if more than one model is employed to study different egress aspects. Future research and model developments should focus on the study of the impact of staff actions, group dynamics and people with disabilities. Given the increasing height of buildings and the gradual reduction in the physical abilities of the population, the effects of fatigue on evacuation need further studies.

Impact of Commuter-Rail Services in Toronto Region

Ridership of the commuter-rail system that was implemented in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in 1967 increased at an annual, average compound rate of 11.4% until 1989. Demand has leveled substantially during 1990--94 and has averaged only 2.1% per year, which probably reflects the suburbanization of employment. Urban economic theory is used to explain the way in which central-business-district (CBD) employees respond differently to suburban commuter-rail services and rapid transit services, mainly serving the inner intermediate suburbs. Travel data collected in 1986 and 1991 confirmed the effects suggested by the theory. Commuter-rail passengers are drawn from the larger suburban households, living principally in single-family houses, and commuter-rail passengers are more sensitive to access and egress distances than subway passengers. Policies that improve the quality of access and egress components of commuting trips from the suburbs stimulate passenger demand. Also, land-use policies that promote high-density, residential development at suburban commuter-rail stations are unlikely to contribute significantly to commuter-rail demand, and the lakeshore commuter-rail line that has been in service since 1967 has not had a significant impact on residential sorting and on the generation of additional demands.

A broad observational study of the eclipsing magnetic cataclysmic variable RE 2107-05

view Abstract Citations (45) References (32) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS A Broad Observational Study of the Eclipsing Magnetic Cataclysmic Variable RE 2107-05 Glenn, Jason ; Howell, Steve B. ; Schmidt, Gary D. ; Liebert, James ; Grauer, Albert D. ; Wagner, R. Mark Abstract We have carried out extensive observations of the bright eclipsing cataclysmic variable RE 2107-05 using CCD and high-speed photelectric photometry, low- and moderate-resolution phase-resolved optical spectroscopy, broad-band linear and circular polarimetry, and optical spectropolarimetry. We confirm that the system is a synchronized magnetic variable of the AM Herculis type, with a spin/orbit period of 125.02 minutes. Both broad and narrow components are detected in the emission-line spectrum, with radial velocities phased appropriately for their origin in the accretion stream and irradiated secondary star, respectively. In addition to the normal series of Balmer and helium lines, Fe II emission from the funnel is conspicuous. RE 2107-05 provides new insight into the flow of accreting gas in an AM Her system. At certain phases, the broad component of H-alpha splinters into multiple components suggesting individual coherent streamlines. Eclipse of the accretion funnel by the secondary star is evident in protracted ingress and egress components, displaced approximately 15 deg in longitude from the spot. These transitions show remarkable differences in character from one eclipse to the next, signifying substantial changes in the magnetospheric interaction on an orbital timescale. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: April 1994 DOI: 10.1086/173946 Bibcode: 1994ApJ...424..967G Keywords: Astronomical Models; Balmer Series; Cataclysmic Variables; Deposition; Eclipsing Binary Stars; H Alpha Line; Helium; Iron; Magnetic Stars; White Dwarf Stars; Astronomical Polarimetry; Astronomical Spectroscopy; Cyclotron Radiation; Electrophotometry; Optical Polarization; Stellar Magnetic Fields; Stellar Mass; Time Series Analysis; Astrophysics; POLARIZATION; STARS: BINARIES: ECLIPSING; STARS: INDIVIDUAL ALPHANUMERIC: RE 2107-05; STARS: MAGNETIC FIELDS; STARS: NOVAE; CATACLYSMIC VARIABLES full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (3)

Comparative Analysis and Pedestrian Simulation Evaluation on Emergency Evacuation Test Methods for Urban Rail Transit Stations

The emergency evacuation test method of rail transit station not only affects the operation safety of the station, but it also has significant influence on the scale and cost of the station. A reasonable test method should guarantee both the safety of evacuation and that the investment is neither excessive nor too conservative. The paper compares and analyzes the differences of the existing emergency evacuation test methods of rail stations in China and other regions on the evacuation load, evacuation time calculation and the capacity of egress components, etc. Based on the field survey analysis, the desired velocity distribution of pedestrians in various station facilities and the capacity of egress components have been obtained, and then the parameters of pedestrian simulation tool were calibrated. By selecting a station for the case study, an evacuation simulation model has been established, where five evacuation scenarios have been set according to different specifications and the simulation results have been carefully analyzed. Through analyzing the simulation results, some modification proposals of the current emergency evacuation test method in the design manual have been considered, including taking into account the section passenger volume, walking time on escalators and stairs of the platform, and the condition in which the escalator most critical to evacuation should be considered as out of service.