Evacuation Experiments Research Articles

Automated human choice extraction for evacuation route prediction

This paper introduces a new Automated Cue Choice Extraction Method (ACCEM), which is designed to automatically deduce subject's choices of visually perceivable architectural cues from their trajectories observed in a VR-based evacuation experiment. ACCEM is developed to generate input for evacuation simulation modeling. Complementary to the existing video-based automated analysis on crowd evacuation, ACCEM utilizes a Virtual Reality (VR) based evacuation experiment to automatically analyze the individual visual perception as input. First, the computational model of ACCEM is introduced. Next, the vision-based recognition algorithm and the reverse reasoning in ACCEM are explained in detail. Last, a demonstration of ACCEM successfully deducing the subject's choices along an observed trajectory is illustrated. After discussing the application issues of ACCEM, it is concluded that ACCEM fits for its purpose and that it provides a new opportunity to VR-based evacuation research.

Evacuation from a classroom considering the occupant density around exits

Abstract An existing cellular automaton evacuation model is modified to simulate an evacuation experiment conducted in a classroom with obstacles. In the modified model, the impact of the occupant density around exits on human behavior in evacuation is considered. The simulation and experimental results prove that this improvement makes sense, because besides the spatial distance to exits, people may also choose the exit according to the occupant density around exits. The distribution of individual evacuation times as a function of initial positions and the dynamics of the evacuation process are studied. Comparison between the experimental and simulation results shows that the model can reproduce the experiment well. The improvement of the CA model is useful for further study.

ON-SITE EXPERIMENT ON THE GROUP EVACUATION BEHAVIOR IN LARGE-SCALE UNDERGROUND SHOPPING MALL

In view of the rapid large scale development of underground in the central big cities, especially around terminal stations, evacuation experiments have been conducted with 79 subjects using an underground shopping mall near Tokyo Station actually in service after business hours. Four groups of 20 subjects started from different locations and time to “escape” from any of emergency exits was measured for each subject. 12 out of the 79 subjects wore elderly simulator to compare evacuation behavior of elderly and that of younger people. The evacuation behavior was also monitored by video cameras and escape route of each subject was reproduced afterwards. Five experiments were conducted using the lighting conditions and layout of emergency exits as parameters. The starting point was changed from experiment to experiment, not making any subject repeat similar selection of escape route. The shopping mall is composed of grid of passages, and is installed with escape route sign lights on every passage according to Fire Service Law. In every experiment, it was observed that considerable portion of subjects did not select right passage toward nearest exit at intersection nor passed over right exits. These are not compliant with widely accepted assumption for deterministic modeling of evacuation in mall-like facility. Factors dictating the probability to select right passage at intersections and that to recognize emergency exit are analyzed from the experimental data.

Evacuation experiment in a road tunnel: A study of human behaviour and technical installations

An evacuation experiment was performed in a road tunnel in order to investigate how motorists behave and emotionally respond when exposed to a fire emergency, how information and wayfinding systems are perceived and whether green flashing lights can influence exit choice. The participants believed that they were taking part in a study about driving behaviour. Approximately 1 km inside the tunnel participants encountered an accident, i.e., cars and smoke. The fire alarm, which consists of a pre-recorded alarm and information signs, was also activated and green flashing lights at emergency exits were started. The results show that it was difficult to make out what was said in the pre-recorded alarm. However, an acoustic signal was positive since it alerted motorists and made them look for additional information. The information signs were also important for the decision to leave the vehicle. Social influence was found to be essential, both with regards to the decision to leave the vehicle and the choice of exit. The results also suggest that arousal level influences the amount of information noticed by motorists, which implies that technical installations, e.g., wayfinding systems, should be tested under stressful conditions before they can be relied upon in a real tunnel fire.

Study of announced evacuation drill from a retail store

Study of evacuation from fire is always focused on evacuation models, but rarely on evacuation experiments. This paper presents the results acquired from an announced evacuation drill of XIN LIAN XIN Store in China. There are two floors and five emergency exits in the building. Most of the customers knew there would be an evacuation drill before they entered the store, but they did not know the exact beginning time. The video of the whole evacuation process was recorded using television cameras installed in the store. The customers who evacuated from the store were asked to complete a questionnaire by researchers positioned outside the five exits. Analysis of the videotapes provided information on total evacuation time and actual number of customers who evacuated from the store. Questionnaires present the information on customer characteristics, primary behavior at alarm, pre-movement time and exit choice. The analysis results show that pre-movement time is an important part of evacuation process. Strengthening detector, alarm equipments and staff training are very effective and necessary for fire safety in China. These data can also be used as input parameters for evacuation models in performance-based fire protection design or validating the evacuation models' accuracy.

Experiment and multi-grid modeling of evacuation from a classroom

The evacuation process of students from a classroom is investigated by both experiment and modeling. We investigate the video record of the pedestrian movement in the classroom, and find some typical characteristics of the evacuation, including variable velocity, dislocable queuing, monopolizing exit and so on. Based on the experimental observation, we improve the multi-grid model by considering the pre-movement time of each pedestrian, adopting variable velocity and using a new update procedure. With the improved multi-grid model, we simulate the evacuation process and compare the simulation results with the experimental results, and find that they agree with each other closely. In order to analyze the uncertainty of evacuation, we investigate the influences of the pre-movement time and its distribution on the evacuation. It is found that the evacuation times exhibit a (truncated) normal distribution and vary within a region of about 30% of the mean value. An interesting phenomenon is that the evacuation time of the egress experiment is close to the minimum value calculated with the model, due to the coordination among pedestrians during the experiment. The study may be useful in developing applicable egress models and understanding the basic egress behaviors.

Lattice gas simulation and experiment study of evacuation dynamics

In this paper, evacuation dynamics in an office building is studied by experiment and simulation. A lattice gas (LG) model is developed. A parameter called ‘exit bias’ is introduced into the model to describe the occupants’ familiarity with different exits in a building. The evacuation experiment, which consists of seven scenarios under various conditions, is conducted to verify the model and calibrate the model’s input parameters such as pedestrian speed and exit bias. The effect of exit width on flow rate, and the effect of occupants’ familiarity with the building on their route selections, are studied. It is found that the accuracy of simulation depends a lot on the model’s pedestrian speed. The optimal pedestrian speed is decided by not only occupant characteristics, but also flow features determined by people distribution, building structure, environment pressure, etc. LG models with proper pedestrian speed are capable of simulating the dynamic process of orderly emergency evacuations.

Social influence during the initial phase of a fire evacuation—Analysis of evacuation experiments in a cinema theatre

Unannounced evacuation experiments in a cinema theatre were analysed. The analysis focused on investigating if people are influenced by others during the initial phase of a fire evacuation. This type of influence is called social influence. Three separate behaviour types were identified and studied and the recognition and pre-movement time was measured. The results suggest that social influence is an important factor and that it becomes more important when the fire cue, e.g., the alarm, is unclear or uninformative. Results also indicate that social influence increases with decreasing distance between visitors. This result implies that individuals are influenced more by people who are close than by people who are further away.

マルチエージェントを用いた避難行動シミュレーション

When planning the disaster prevention, it is dangerous to actually make the evacuation experiment in the close space such as under ground shopping center. Therefore, the simulation on a computer system is general. In this report, the authors focused on the information transition between pedestrians and a leader for escape, and the ability of a leader. Especially, discussion is made on the implementation of leader's ability that knowing the route to nearest exit, and the implementation of transition of the information about the nearest exit.

Effect of temperature and salinity on the gastric evacuation of juvenile sole Solea solea and Solea senegalensis

Summary The juveniles of Senegal sole, Solea senegalensis, Kaup 1858, and common sole, Solea solea (Linnaeus 1758) concentrate in estuarine and coastal nurseries of widely differing temperatures and salinities. Yet, little is known about the effect of these physiologically important variables on the gastric evacuation rates of these species. Gastric evacuation experiments were performed on juveniles of S. senegalensis and S. solea. Three temperatures were tested, 26, 20 and 14� C at a salinity of 35&. A low salinity experiment was also carried out at 15& ,a t 26� C. Experimental conditions intended to reflect conditions in estuarine and coastal nurseries where juveniles of these species spend their first years of life. The relation between stomach contents and time was best described by exponential regression models for both species. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed in order to test differences in evacuation rate due to temperature and salinity (slope of evacuation time against stomach contents) for each species. While increasing temperature increased evacuation rates in both species (although not at 26� Ci nS. solea), the effect of low salinity differed among species, leading to a decrease in gastric evacuation rate in that of S. senegalensis and an increase in S. solea. Differences in gastric evacuation rate between species were related to its metabolic optimums and to its distribution in the nursery area where fish were captured. Implications for the habitat use of estuarine and coastal nurseries are discussed.

Urban Flooding and Measures

Urban flood disasters occur often worldwide, and Japan is no exception, as indicated by the 1999 Fukuoka flood. Urban floods result from changes in the urban environment influenced by the specific features of the city involved. We review recent urban floods, their causes and characteristics, together with the results of recent studies. Focusing on two mathematical models -- the integrated urban flood model of urban river basins and the underground inundation model -- we discuss their simulation results. To demonstrate the dangers of underground inundations, we introduce evacuation experiments conducted using full-scale staircase and door models. Based on these studies, we propose comprehensive measures against urban floods, including underground inundations.

暗闇での避難時における蓄光階段の有効性に関する研究

When the power failure occurs because of terrorism, it becomes the pitch-dark dark in case of no nighttime, and moving cannot be taken in the close space. Then, the vertical evacuation experiment was conducted by using the photoluminescent stairs, and the effectiveness of the photoluminescent stairs was clarified in this research. The photoluminescent stairs improved the visibility when taking evacuation, was able to shorten the evacuation time when the stairs taking shelter.

Evacuation of crawlers and walkers from corridor through an exit

Evacuation processes of walkers (pedestrians) and crawlers are investigated by experiment and simulation. The experiments are performed for walkers and crawlers evacuating from the corridor (channel) with an exit. All students go on all fours in the evacuation experiment of crawlers. The video recordings and measurements of individual escape times are evaluated. The characteristics of evacuation processes are clarified experimentally. The evacuation process of students going on all fours is compared with that of walkers. Both experiments are mimicked by the lattice gas simulation, where each student is simulated by a biased random walker. The simulation results are compared with the experimental results. It is shown that both experiment results are consistent with the simulation results.

Coloured Flashing Lights To Mark Emergency Exits - Experiences From Evacuation Experiments

Three evacuation experiments were performed to investigate how emergency exits should be designed. In the first two experiments coloured flashing lights and strobe lights at emergency exits were tested and compared to a standard emergency exit design. In the third experiment green, blue, orange and red lights were compared to determine which colour was the most appropriate for use in emergencies. Results of the studies show that flashing lights and strobe lights, compared to the standard emergency exit design, increase the use of emergency exits. Furthermore, it is recommended that green lights should be used at emergency exits.

Consumption and gut evacuation rate of laboratory‐reared spotted seatrout (Sciaenidae) larvae and juveniles

The temperature and mass dependence of maximum consumption rate was measured for larval and early juvenile spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus. Maximum consumption (CMAX) estimates were obtained from feeding and gut evacuation experiments on larvae (3·8–19 mm standard length, LS) at three temperatures (24, 28 and 32° C), and maximum consumption experiments on juveniles at three temperatures (20, 26 and 32° C). Feeding levels were determined for larvae fed live prey (Brachionus plicatilis and Artemia salina)ad libitum. The midgut and total evacuation times were estimated for fish feeding continuously and discontinuously using alternate meals of tagged and untagged live prey. Temperature and fish size had significant effects on gut evacuation and consumption. The gut evacuation time increased with increasing fish size, and decreased with increasing temperatures. Mass‐specific midgut contents increased for small larvae <0·156 mg dry mass (MD)(c. 4 mm LS), and decreased for larger larvae and juveniles. Maximum consumption was modelled by fitting a polynomial function to a reduced dataset of individuals feeding at high levels. The CMAX model predicted an initial increase in specific feeding rate from 70 to 155%MD day−1 for small larvae, before declining for larger larvae and juveniles.

Marking emergency exits and evacuation routes with sound beacons utilizing the precedence effect

Sound beacons can be extremely useful during emergency evacuations, especially when vision is obscured by smoke. When exits are marked with suitable sound sources, people can find these using only their capacity for directional hearing. Unfortunately, unless very explicit instructions were given, sound beacons currently commercially available (based on modulated noise) led to disappointing results during an evacuation experiment in a traffic tunnel. Only 19% out of 65 subjects were able to find an exit by ear. A signal designed to be more self-explanatory and less hostile-sounding (alternating chime signal and spoken message ‘‘exit here’’) increased the success rate to 86%. In a more complex environment—a mock-up of a ship’s interior—routes to the exit were marked using multiple beacons. By applying carefully designed time delays between successive beacons, the direction of the route was marked, utilizing the precedence effect. Out of 34 subjects, 71% correctly followed the evacuation route by ear (compared to 24% for a noise signal as used in commercially available beacons). Even when subjects were forced to make a worst-case left–right decision at a T-junction, between two beacons differing only in arrival of the first wave front, 77% made the right decision.

Gastric evacuation in cod: Prey-specific evacuation rates for use in North Sea, Baltic Sea and Barents Sea multi-species models

Gastric evacuation experiments were performed on North Sea cod Gadus morhua. Seven fish species of different energy density, smelt, herring, sprat, sandeel, goby, whiting, and Norway pout, and one crustacean, brown shrimp were tested as prey. A general evacuation model, including predator weight, temperature, and meal size as variables, was fitted to the data on wet weights by means of non-linear regression technique. Additionally the extensive stomach evacuation data on Barents Sea cod from the literature were reanalysed to test for differences in gastric evacuation between stocks from different ecosystems. It was shown that the exclusion of meal size as an explanatory variable caused only minor reductions in the explained variance (0–3.2%) with only one exception (capelin) where the explained variance was reduced by 6.1%. When meal size was excluded from the model, the estimates for the curvature parameter were generally close to 0.5 and since the model can be applied in this form only to estimate field consumption rates meal size was excluded in further analyses. The parameters for curvature, predator weight, and temperature effect were similar for the different prey types and both data sets. The mean curvature parameter was estimated at 0.534 and not significantly different from 0.5. This confirmed the work performed with other gadoid predators. The exponent of the predator weight effect was estimated as 0.306, and the exponent for the temperature effect as 0.110 which corresponds to a Q 10=3.0. The estimates for the prey-specific parameter ranged from 0.00424 ( C. crangon) to 0.0141 (polychaetes). In case of fish prey a large part of the variation in these prey-specific evacuation parameters could be explained by differences in energy density of the prey.

Estimating the mean time between meals in the field from stomach content data and gastric evacuation functions of whiting (Merlangius merlangus L.) feeding on sandeel (Ammodytes marinus Raitt)

The evacuation of sandeels in whiting stomachs was investigated in double meal evacuation experiments. The experiments revealed accelerated evacuation of the first sandeel after the intake of a second sandeel when compared to the evacuation rate of a single sandeel in a stomach. The second sandeel was evacuated at a decreased rate such that the overall gastric evacuation rate was equal to the single meal situation again. The evacuatio functions derived from these experiments were applied to whiting stomachs from a small scale field investigation, where whiting were found to feed exclusively on sandeel. From those whitings which contained two sandeels in their stomachs the mean time between the intake of the first and the second sandeel was estimated as 2 d. Since the majority of whiting in the field samples had less than two sandeels in their stomachs, a simulation model was set up, which mimics on an individual base the food intake and gastric evacuation for the whole local whiting population. Parameter values, including the probability of prey encounter were varied to minimize the deviation between the observed and the simulated stomach content distribution. The best fit was obtained assuming a probability of prey encounter of 0.3/day and under these conditions the average time between successive meals for the whole local whiting populatio was 4 d. 2002 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Gastric evacuation in mackerel: the effects of meal size, prey type and temperature

Gastric evacuation experiments, performed with groups of Atlantic mackerel Scomber scombrus and three different prey species: sprat Sprattus sprattus, sandeel Ammodytes marinus and krill Meganectyphanes norwegicus, revealed a strong temperature effect on gastric evacuation (Q10=4.l) and a curvilinear evacuation with a shape intermediate between the square root and the exponential model. From the experiments with krill, where no internal tagging was possible, the medians and upper quartiles of the stomach content distributions were analysed instead of individual data. From these experiments the evacuation rate of krill was 60% higher than that of sandeel. An additional simulation study confirmed that the use of medians results in more accurate estimates of the evacuation rates when compared to the arithmetic means.

Echinoid bioerosion and herbivory on Kenyan coral reefs: the role of protection from fishing

During feeding, echinoids remove a large proportion of calcium carbonate in addition to the algae growing on dead coral and are consequently of importance in estimating the turnover of organic and inorganic carbon in coral reefs. Rates of herbivory and the erosion of dead coral substratum, referred to as bioerosion, by the most abundant echinoid species in Kenyan reefs, Echinothrix diadema (Linnaeus), Diadema setosum (Leske), D. savignyi (Michelin) and Echinometra mathaei (de Blainville), were compared in three different reef categories with different histories of fishing and its exclusion. These were reefs: (i) protected within Marine National Parks, which exclude all forms of fishing, coral and shell collection for more than 25 years; (ii) one reef within a Marine Park, which has received protection from fishing activities for 8 years (referred to as ‘newly protected’ reef); and (iii) unprotected reefs, which experience heavy fishing and some coral collection. The aim was to investigate the grazing and bioerosion activity by the above echinoid species in these reef categories. We surveyed sea urchin population densities and determined their rates of bioerosion and herbivory per individual and square meter. Individual rates of bioerosion and herbivory, of the species D. setosum, D. savignyi and E. diadema were estimated from laboratory gut content analysis and gut evacuation experiments in the field, using elevated underwater cages. Individual rates of bioerosion and herbivory of E. mathaei were obtained from a previous field study [J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 147 (1991) 121]. Sea urchin bioerosion was greater than herbivory for all studied species and proportional to the body size of the sea urchin species. The large-bodied E. diadema exhibited the highest bioerosion and herbivory rates (5.5±0.9 and 2.2±0.3 g individual −1 day −1, respectively) followed by D. setosum (1.8±0.3 and 1.1±0.2 g individual −1 day −1) and D. savignyi (0.7±0.2 and 0.4±0.1 g individual −1 day −1). Highest sea urchin densities were recorded at unprotected reefs (6.2±1.5 individual m −2), and therefore, bioerosion and herbivory by sea urchins were also highest in this reef category (1180±230 g CaCO 3 m −2 year −1 and 450±77 g algae m −2 year −1). Protected reefs recorded 20 times lower sea urchin bioerosion and herbivory rates (50.3±25.8 g CaCO 3 m −2 year −1 and 20.7±10.4 g algae m −2 year −1), due to the low sea urchin population densities in these reefs (0.06±0.01 individual m −2). The newly protected reef, with intermediate number of sea urchins (1.2±0.1 individual m −2), had intermediate rates of sea urchin bioerosion and herbivory (711±157 g CaCO 3 m −2 year −1 and 299±63 g algae m −2 year −1). These findings suggest that echinoids are important in the carbon cycle and reef development, and that fishing can influence these ecological processes.