Evacuation Elevators Research Articles

Perspectives of occupants with mobility impairments on evacuation methods for use during fire emergencies

Since the tragic loss of life in the World Trade Center disaster, efforts have refocused on the provision of safe and efficient evacuation procedures, especially for occupants who cannot negotiate exit stairs without assistance. Several evacuation options have been designed specifically for people with mobility impairments, including occupant evacuation elevators (OEEs). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 51 participants with mobility impairments working in buildings located in five major metropolitan areas within the U.S. The dual goals in this study were to gain an understanding of how building occupants with mobility impairments evacuate multi-story buildings during fire emergencies and to identify perspectives on the use of elevators during fire evacuations. Data analysis of interviews highlighted the benefits and concerns of study participants involving both typical building evacuation methods (i.e., emergency stair travel devices and areas of refuge), as well as evacuation methods using elevators. This study also highlights improvements that can be made to elevator systems, particularly OEEs, to reduce anxiety about fire evacuation and increase trust in the occupant evacuation elevator system via a variety of means, including education and consultation in preparation for the evacuation, information and attention to occupant needs while the evacuation is taking place, and two-way feedback and discussions afterwards. Key to all of these improvements is the need to include those with mobility impairments in the planning and execution of fire evacuations and to facilitate their ability for self-evacuation as much as is practicable. The results of this study led to guidance on evacuation planning and procedures, the use of existing elevators for evacuation of people with mobility impairments, and the use of occupant evacuation elevators.

Experimental Study of Elevator Loading and Unloading Time During Evacuation in High-Rise Buildings

To date, there are various types of elevators, such as evacuation elevators, that are being utilized during high-rise building evacuations in several countries, in accordance with their respective building codes. In order to enhance the effectiveness of elevator evacuation, evacuees’ behaviors should be better understood, in this way taking human behavior into consideration will allow for elevators to be better utilized. However, there are few studies on this topic since nearly no elevator evacuation events or experiments have been previously recorded. In this paper, 64 experiments were carried out to study how evacuees behave and what factors influence their behaviors during evacuation. Several key data, such as elevator loading and unloading time, time to open and close elevator doors were collected. We found that loading time (6.0 s) is much shorter than the time to open and close the doors (15.4 s). According to our findings, the number of evacuees influences evacuees’ behaviors when using elevators, but smoke does not. Furthermore, the shapes of queuing, such as arch and line, will influence the duration of time for evacuees going through elevator doors. The evacuees in the arch shape (5.3 s) pass faster than those in the line shape (6.4 s). Several interesting phenomena were observed in our experiments, such as push, hesitation, re-entering the elevator, stair-preference, and social bonding. Finally, several suggestions, such as the width of doors and the design of elevator lobbies, are proposed to building designers on the issues mentioned above. The basic data of our experiments can be used to calibrate and validate elevator evacuation simulations.

Collaborative Evacuation Strategy of Ultra-tall Towers among Stairs and Elevators

With the higher ultra-tall towers development, there are more difficult designs in evacuation. The collaborative evacuation among stairs and elevators was put forward based on analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of elevators for evacuation of ultra-tall tower. Then the principle of collaborative evacuation strategy and design key points were advised. At last, with an ultra-tall tower as an example, the evacuation strategy was introduced, and it was proved feasibly and superiorly according to compare with the different evacuation scenarios formulated by Pathfinder.

Evacuation experiments in a virtual reality high‐rise building: exit choice and waiting time for evacuation elevators

SummaryThe egress strategy in high‐rise buildings has traditionally been based on the sole use of stairs for evacuation. However, it is becoming more common to include evacuation elevators in the egress strategy in high‐rise buildings. Traditionally, evacuation elevators have not been allowed as an evacuation route, and people have been instructed to not use elevators in case of fire. This means that people might still not consider evacuation elevators even if they are designed to be safe in case of fire. Even if people choose evacuation elevators, they might not be willing to wait very long for an elevator to arrive. Virtual reality (VR) experiments were conducted to study exit choice and the waiting time for evacuation elevators in high‐rise buildings. The experiment was performed in a VR lab with a VR model of an existing high‐rise building. Results suggest that a simple way‐finding system using green flashing lights can influence people to more likely choose the elevator as their first evacuation choice. The results also show that the general trend is that people wait for either a limited time (<5 min) or a long time (>20 min). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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.

A Safety Evaluation Model of Large Space Building Based on AHP Algorithm

This paper puts forward a safety evaluation model of large space building based on AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) algorithm. It is for the purpose of the electrical equipments zone control when on fire. This will make some safe areas in large buildings be able to use normal illumination and the elevators for personnel evacuation.

승강기문, 방화유리창 성능기준 개선방향에 관한 연구

The openings for fire doors and elevator doors are installed on fire compartment to stem fire spreading, evacuation passage and elevator hoistway in building. Fire spreading tend to grow through these openings, so it is important to organize the standard related to opening protectives. Unlike in the past, due to being tall and large, the elevator for evacuation is being more important. For this reason, it is required for elevator door to be safe in fire and it is necessary for the glazing installed on fire doors to be reviewed with respect to fire spreading. In this study, foreign performance criterion of the fire elevator door and the fire-protection-rated glazing were reviewed and the base data for improving way about the fire performance criteria were suggested.

가압 계단실의 방연풍속 형성에 대한 수치해석적 분석

In high-rise commercial buildings, the smoke that occurs in case of a fire tends to be spread rapidly to the horizontal and vertical direction due to the structural characteristics of the buildings. In particular, since the smoke spread to evacuation stairwells and elevator shafts results in the toll of lives, Design Guidelines for Smoke Control System of Special Evacuation Stairwell and Lobby of NFSC 501A was proposed in Korea as one of fire safety standards to prevent the penetration of the smoke into the above mentioned areas. Towards this end, the vestibule pressurization method was largely used in the past, but the stairwell pressurization method is introducing in recent years. This study attempted to analyze whether air egress velocity suitable for the standards is secured, targeting the actual buildings designed with stairwell pressurization system through numerical analysis. For this, a real-size model for numerical analysis was made by measuring the floor plan, airflow, pressure and flow area of any floor in a fire, and velocity to prevent smoke backflow was analyzed.

컴퓨터프로그램을 이용한 엘리베이터 피난 연구

최근의 건축물은 초고층화 또는 지하 공간의 심층화되어감에 따라 과도한 수직 거리 이동으로 인하여 체력이 부족한 사람들이 피난층 비상구에 이르기 전에 지쳐서 쓰러질 가능성이 있다. 화재 발생 인접 구역으로부터의 초기 피난에는 계단을 사용한 후에 나머지 거리는 승강기를 이용하여 안전한 공지나 도로로 탈출하는 방법을 요구하고 있다. 이에 따라 서울특별시 초고층 건축물 가이드 라인에서 피난용승강기에 대해 제정되었다. 최근 층수는 지하 7층 지상53층, 바닥면적 <TEX>$6,800m^2$</TEX> 연면적 <TEX>$127,050m^2$</TEX>, 용도는 문화 및 집회시설 판매시설 업무시설 숙박시설(호텔) 공동주택(아파트)의 건축물을 설계하면서 피난용승강기를 별도로 설치하기에는 효율적이지 못하다는 판단하에 승용승강기의 설치기준에 따라 설계된 승강기를 피난용으로 사용하기로 결정하였다. 그러나 이에 대한 세부 설계지침내용이 아직까지 마련되어 있지 않아 국내법과 해외 설치기준을 근거로 승용승강기를 피난용으로 이용하기 위한 설계방법을 정리하였으며, 실제 설계된 도면으로 ELVAC+와 PathFinder의 피난프로그램으로 승강기수와 승강기를 이용한 피난자수의 적정성에 대해 연구하였다. Because of ultra-high buildings or deeper underground space, recent buildings have the potential that people who have lack of physical strength collapse before arriving at the emergency exits when catastrophes occur. In case of fire, the way to escape is that first, people take the stairs of the adjacent areas and then use the elevator to the remaining distance by road to escape notice or be safe. For this reason, the skyscrapers guidelines of Seoul for information on the elevator for evacuation has been established. Nevertheless, when designing buildings to install a elevator for evacuation separately is not effective, so passenger elevators installation according to the criteria are encouraged to use as evacuation elevators. However, this does not include detailed design guidelines so far. Therefore, this study was to investigate design method to use the passenger elevator for evacuation according to the domestic law and international installation criteria, and to calculated number of lifts and refuge to use the elevator using by the ELVAC+ and PathFinder evacuation program.

엘리베이터 승강로의 유량계수 산정에 관한 실험 연구

최근 건축물이 대형화, 복잡화되면서 건축물내 거주자의 피난 안전성이 관심의 초점이 되고 있다. 초고층 건물의 경우 화재 발생 시 계단을 통한 피난에 시간이 많이 소요되고 특히, 장애인의 경우 계단을 통한 피난 자체가 불가능할 수 있다. 이에 거주자의 피난에 엘리베이터를 이용하는 방법에 대한 연구가 진행되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 엘리베이터를 피난에 이용하기 위하여 엘리베이터 승강로가 연기에 오염되지 않도록 하는 연구의 일환으로 엘리베이터 운행 시 승강로 내의 유량계수를 실험을 통하여 살펴보았다. 유량계수는 엘리베이터 피스톤 효과의 양을 결정짓는 중요한 인자이다. 본 연구의 결과는 엘리베이터 피스톤 효과에 대한 연구의 기초 데이터로 활용 가능하다. 실험은 3층과 2층 건물 5곳의 엘리베이터 승강로에서 수행하였으며, 실험 결과 평균 유량계수는 0.954이며 99.99 % 신뢰도를 위해 <TEX>$4{\sigma}$</TEX>를 적용하였을 경우 유량계수가 0.86으로 나타났다. 이 결과는 Klote와 Tamura가 제안한 0.83보다 3.6 %가 큰 값이며, 동일 조건의 엘리베이터 운행 시 피스톤 효과에 의한 최대 계산 압력이 약 7 % 감소함을 의미한다. 이 결과는 현재의 초고층 건물의 제연성능 평가 시 엘리베이터 피스톤 효과의 최대 임계압력을 적용할 경우 보다 실제적이고 작은 값을 적용하여 경제성을 확보할 수 있다는 것을 의미한다. Recently, evacuation safety of building resident become the major concern, as the building has been higher and more complicated. Required evacuation time using stairway is longer in high-rise buildings, moreover it is impossible for the disabled to evacuate by using stairway. For this reason the study on the effectiveness of using elevator for evacuation is progressing. This study shows the flow coefficient of hoistway when elevator is moving. The results of this study can be used for the study of elevator piston effect as basic data. Experiments were performed in 5 different hoistways at 3-story and 2-story buildings. According to the result of flow coefficient experiments, average flow coefficient is 0.954. Considering the <TEX>$4{\sigma}$</TEX> to guarantee 99.99 % reliance, it is 0.86. This result is 3.6 % bigger than 0.83 that Klote and Tamura suggested. It represents that the maximum critical pressure is decreased about 7 % on the same condition of elevator and elevator shaft. When the smoke control performance of high-rise building is evaluated, the result is significant economically by applying a more realistic and less value of elevator piston effect.

Numerical Simulation of Smoke Movement Influence to Evacuation in a High-Rise Residential Building Fire

A 20-storey fire-occurred residential building in Japanese Hiroshima was taken as an example in the paper. The smoke movement and smoke temperature field in high-rise building fires were analyzed by numerical simulation. And the influence of fire smoke on the availability of using elevator for evacuation was discussed. Finally some effective suggestions were put forward.

Design of Evacuation Systems for Elevator Evacuation in High-Rise Buildings

As tall buildings are becoming more common there is a need to examine alternative evacuation strategies. In response to this many new high-rise buildings are equipped with evacuation elevators. Traditionally, elevators have not been used for evacuation and people have been instructed to avoid using them in fire emergencies. It might therefore be quite challenging to get people to use elevators for evacuation. If evacuation elevators are to be perceived as an attractive option people must be given appropriate information and guidance. In the following paper, previous research is examined in order to identify the information required to convince people to use evacuation elevators. In addition, a theory that can aid the design of evacuation systems, i.e., the tools for conveying the information, is presented and applied. Finally, a research strategy for developing and testing new evacuation systems is presented.

Smoke Control – Discussion of Switching Elevator to Evacuation Elevator in High-rise Building

When fire disaster happens in high-rise building, stairwell is to be the unique way for evacuation, and the effect is not ideal. The elevator has a huge potential to be the one of those evacuation manners as it is the fastest and the most convenient Vertical Transportation Equipment. To solve the problems of using elevator transportation as a evacuation manner, the paper makes some meaningful conclusions from the sides of Power Guarantee, Evacuation Tactics, Smoke Control etc.

A Life-Cycle Cost Comparison of Exit Stairs and Occupant Evacuation Elevators in Tall Buildings

Recent changes in the International Building Code (IBC) require a third exit stair for buildings in excess of 420 ft (128 m) high. Additionally, the new code provision allows for occupant evacuation elevators (OEE) to be used as an alternative to the third stair, provided the passenger elevator be protected in such a way to facilitate safe building evacuation. In this study, we evaluate the life-cycle costs of these alternative means of egress, using two prototypical building designs. Building ‘42F’ is a 42 floor, 504 ft (154 m) high building with a total floorspace of 1.68 million ft2 (0.16 million m2). Building ‘75F’ is a 75 floor, 900 ft (274 m) high building with a total floorspace of 3.38 million ft2 (0.31 million m2), including an 8403 ft2 (781 m2) sky lobby. The life-cycle cost of the OEE is compared to two exit stair designs, differentiated by width: 44 in. (112 cm) and 66 in. (168 cm). The wider exit stair conforms with another change to the IBC that requires the increase in width of exit stairs by 50% in new sprinklered buildings. The results of the economic analysis demonstrate that: (1) an additional exit stair is a cost-effective alternative to the installation of OEE on a first-cost basis; and (2) OEE are a cost-effective alternative to the installation of an additional exit stair on a life-cycle cost basis when rental rates are moderate to high and when discount rates are moderate to low.

Addressing the Needs of People Using Elevators for Emergency Evacuation

US model codes and building regulations are recognizing the provision of protected elevators for occupant self-evacuation after more than two decades of training people that elevators are unsafe in fires. This reversal will require that people can readily identify those elevators that are safe to use and be provided with information and reassurances during use that the system is functioning safely. Lengthy discussions on the interactions between the systems and users have resulted in requirements for visual, audible, and voice messaging systems and operational protocols designed to provide reliable, real-time information needed by users to make informed decisions. The discussions have further identified the need for public education to provide for effective use by infrequent visitors to buildings equipped with these systems. The paper will discuss the approaches being developed to address these needs by a consortium of public and private organizations including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Elevator Industry Inc. (NEII), disability advocacy groups, and the fire alarm and model building code developers. There is an expectation that since a building’s elevators are used daily by the occupants, by keeping the system used in emergencies as close as possible to normal use, the provision of additional information on status and safety will represent sufficient reassurance to users. One of the outstanding issues identified in the discussions is the need for testing and verification that the approaches will be effective. Due to the difficulties inherent in human testing, there is a need for the inclusion of these features into observational research being conducted through required evacuation drills. Since elevator use is not prohibited now for non-fire emergency egress, this may provide the opportunity to test public response to the approaches being contemplated. The paper will suggest ideas for such research being included in planned studies and as a part of building commissioning.

Analysis of Hospital Disaster in South Korea from 1990 to 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to systematically review and analyze disasters involving South Korean hospitals from 1990 and to introduce a newly developed implement to manage patients' evacuation.Materials and MethodsWe searched for studies reporting disaster preparedness and hospital injuries in South Korean hospitals from 1990 to 2008, by using the Korean Studies Information Service System (KISS, copyright Korean Studies Information Co, Ltd, Seoul, Korea) and, simultaneously, hospital injuries which were reported and regarded as a disaster. Then, each study and injury were analyzed.ResultsFive studies (3 on prevention and structure, 1 on implement of new device, and 1 on basic supplement to current methods) and 8 injuries were found within this period. During the evacuations, the mean gait speed of walking patients was 0.82 m/s and the mean time of evacuation of individual patients was 38.39 seconds. Regarding structure evaluation, almost all hospitals had no balconies in patient rooms; hospital elevators were placed peripherally and were insufficient in number. As a new device, Savingsun (evacuation elevator) was introduced and had some merits as a fast and easy tool, regardless of patient status or the height of hospital.ConclusionIn South Korea, preparation for hospital disasters was noted to be insufficient but has involved various departments such as architectural, clinical, and building operations. In addition, Savignsun has been shown to effectively evacuate and save patients in a hospital disaster.

In Case of Emergency, Break Out Exit Plan

In Case of Emergency, Break Out Exit Plan

Group Elevator Scheduling With Advance Information for Normal and Emergency Modes

Group elevator scheduling has long been recognized as an important problem for building transportation efficiency, since unsatisfactory elevator service is one of the major complaints of building tenants. It now has a new significance driven by homeland security concerns. The problem, however, is difficult because of complicated elevator dynamics, uncertain traffic in various patterns, and the combinatorial nature of discrete optimization. With the advent of technologies, one important trend is to use advance information collected from devices such as destination entry, radio frequency identification, and sensor networks to reduce uncertainties and improve efficiency. How to effectively utilize such information remains an open and challenging issue. This paper presents the optimized scheduling of a group of elevators with destination entry and future traffic information for normal operations and coordinated emergency evacuation. Key problem characteristics are abstracted to establish a two-level separable formulation. A decomposition and coordination approach is then developed, where subproblems are solved by ordinal optimization-based local search, and top ranked nodes are selectively optimized by using dynamic programming. The approach is then extended to handle up-peak with little or no future traffic information, elevator parking for low intensity traffic, and coordinated emergency evacuation. Numerical testing results demonstrate near-optimal solution quality, computational efficiency, the value of future traffic information, and the potential of using elevators for emergency evacuation.

Elevator Design for the 21st Century: Design Criteria for Elevators when Used as the Primary Means of Evacuation During Fire Emergencies

The elevator for use in the 21st century must be designed for safety under all conditions that may be expected in the building in which they are to be installed. The integration of smoke control systems and fire protection systems along with evacuation procedures for the use of elevators systems during fire emergencies are discussed. A total approach for the safe use of elevators for occupant evacuation during fire emergencies is cxamincd, and recommendations are made to bring elevator systems to a level of safety that can permit their use during fire emergencies. It is suggested that by introducing a number of existing and practical safety measures, elevators can become the primary means of egress, as well as the primary means of ingress to a building. Elevators transport more people, and do this with a safety record that surpasses any other means of transportation. The utilization of today’s high-rise buildings is feasible only because modern, fast moving, reliable elevators pcrmit access to and egress from upper stories. Persons who are physically limited, in particular, require the use of elevators for access to stories above thc ground floor, It is essential lhat the clcvalor industry provitlc clcv;i(ors I ha1 iirc ;is sitl’c (01 cvilc\li\Ii(lll during a fire cmcrgcncy as lhcy arc [‘or riorinirl ctilry. IjuI oiic riii~;l~l irlso ask why only for lhc physically limited'! Shouldn’L cvcryoric tx provitlcd wilh Siil‘c