Discrete element crowd model for pedestrian evacuation through an exit

A series of accidents caused by crowds within the last decades evoked a lot of scientific interest in modeling the movement of pedestrian crowds. Based on the discrete element method, a granular dynamic model, in which the human body is simplified as a self-driven sphere, is proposed to simulate the characteristics of crowd flow through an exit. In this model, the repulsive force among people is considered to have an anisotropic feature, and the physical contact force due to body deformation is quantified by the Hertz contact model. The movement of the human body is simulated by applying the second Newton's law. The crowd flow through an exit at different desired velocities is studied and simulation results indicated that crowd flow exhibits three distinct states, i.e., smooth state, transition state and phase separation state. In the simulation, the clogging phenomenon occurs more easily when the desired velocity is high and the exit may as a result be totally blocked at a desired velocity of 1.6 m/s or above, leading to faster-to-frozen effect.     

Occupants’ behavior of going with the crowd based on cellular automata occupant evacuation model

Occupant behavior which is very complex affects evacuation efficiency and route choice a lot. The psychology and behavior of going with the crowd is very common in daily life and also in occupant evacuation. In this paper, a two-dimensional Cellular Automata model is applied to simulate the process of evacuation considering the psychology of going with the crowd with different room structure or occupant density. The psychology of going with the crowd (the abbreviation is GWC) is classified into directional GWC (DGWC) and spatial GWC (SGWC). The influence of two such kinds of psychology on occupant evacuation is discussed in order to provide some useful guidance on the emergency management of evacuation.     

Small-grid analysis of discrete model for evacuation from a hall

 In this paper, small-grid analysis of discrete model is described, and simulation that some walkers leave a hall is carried out to check the effects of different desired walk velocities with the same walk time at a time step, and different numbers of small grid at a time step with the same desired walk velocity, on the evacuation time. The simulation results show that small-grid analysis have reproduced some typical phenomena of evacuation, including jam, block and faster-is-slower, etc. as good as the continuum model, i.e., the social force model, but with high simulation efficiency. In addition, the power-law distribution of evacuation flow duration and block duration with the different desired walk velocities is found. The block duration with different numbers of small grid at a time step also takes on power-law characteristics, only their intercepts in log–log coordinates are different.     

Experimental study and numerical simulation of evacuation from a dormitory

The evacuation process of students from a dormitory is investigated by both experiment and modeling. We investigate the video record of pedestrian movement in a dormitory, and find some typical characteristics of evacuation, including continuous pedestrian flow, mass behavior and so on. Based on the experimental observation, we found that simulation results considering pre-movement time are closer to the experimental results. With the model considering pre-movement time, we simulate the evacuation process and compare the simulation results with the experimental results, and find that they agree with each other closely. The crowd massing phenomenon is conducted in this paper. It is found that different crowd massing phenomena will emerge due to different desired velocities. The crowd massing phenomenon could be more serious with the increase of the desired velocity. In this study, we also found the faster-is-slower effect. When the positive effect produced by increasing the desired velocity is not sufficient for making up for its negative effect, the phenomenon of the greater the desired velocity the longer the time required for evacuation will emerge. From the video record, it can be observed that the mass behavior is obvious during the evacuation process. And the mass phenomenon could also be found in simulation. The results obtained from our study are also suitable to all these buildings in which both living and resting areas occupy the majority space, such as dormitories, residential buildings, hotels (restaurants) and so on.     

Simulation of crowd dynamics in pedestrian evacuation concerning panic contagion: A cellular automaton approach

The study of the panic evacuation process is of great significance to emergency management. Panic not only causes negative emotions such as irritability and anxiety, but also affects the pedestrians decision-making process, thereby inducing the abnormal crowd behavior. Prompted by the epidemiological SIR model, an extended floor field cellular automaton model was proposed to investigate the pedestrian dynamics under the threat of hazard resulting from the panic contagion. In the model, the conception of panic transmission status (PTS) was put forward to describe pedestrians' behavior who could transmit panic emotions to others. The model also indicated the pedestrian movement was governed by the static and hazard threat floor field. Then rules that panic could influence decision-making process were set up based on the floor field theory. The simulation results show that the stronger the pedestrian panic, the more sensitive pedestrians are to hazards, and the less able to rationally find safe exits. However, when the crowd density is high, the panic contagion has a less impact on the evacuation process of pedestrians. It is also found that when the hazard position is closer to the exit, the panic will propagate for a longer time and have a greater impact on the evacuation. The results also suggest that as the extent of pedestrian's familiarity with the environment increases, pedestrians spend less time to escape from the room and are less sensitive to the hazard. In addition, it is essential to point out that, compared with the impact of panic contagion, the pedestrian's familiarity with environment has a more significant influence on the evacuation.     

The effect of individual tendency on crowd evacuation efficiency under inhomogeneous exit attraction using a static field modified FFCA model

As an extension of the Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process, the floor field cellular automata model has its specific advantages in reproducing crowd self-organized phenomena, embodying individual characteristics and reducing the computing complexity by translating the long-ranged interaction to local interaction. Evacuation from a room is an important part in the study of building evacuation. In our experiment and real life observation we found the exit attraction non-uniformity. To obtain the effect of individual tendency to the exit attraction center on the crowd evacuation efficiency, the static field is modified. Compared with the control group, the exit attraction non-uniformity has a disadvantage in the crowd evacuation efficiency. The position deviation between the exit geometric center and the exit attraction center delays the crowd evacuation by generating a local merging flow. In addition, the individual tendency also increases the crowd evacuation time by increasing the static field gradient to the attraction center, leading to a low usage efficiency of exits. Compared with the influence of other factors, the inhomogeneous exit attraction has an obvious effect on the crowd evacuation efficiency.     

A model for the dissolution behaviour of a graphite overlayer

A model based on a two-step first-order reaction mechanism is proposed to explain the dissolution behaviour of a graphite overlayer into the substrate. The two steps are (a) the decomposition of the graphite layer on and (b) the dissolution of the individual atoms into the substrate. The model was used to successfully explain some results from the literature.     

Three-lane changing behaviour simulation using a modified optimal velocity model

In real urban traffic, roadways are usually multilane and are divided into fast, medium and slow lanes according to different velocity restrictions. Microscopic modelling of single lane has been studied widely using discrete cellular automata and continuous optimal velocity models. In this paper, we extend the continuous single-lane models (OV model and FVD model) to simulate the lane-changing behaviour on an urban roadway that consists of three lanes. Considering headway difference, velocity difference, safety distance, and the probability of lane-changing intention, a comprehensive lane-changing rule set is constructed. We analyse the fundamental diagram and reveal the “faster-is-slower” effect in urban traffic induced by lane-changing behaviour. We also investigate the effect of lane-changing behaviour on the distribution of vehicles, velocity, flow and headway. Asymmetrical phenomenon with symmetrical rules on urban roadway and density inversion on the slow lane were also found. The simulation results indicate that lane-changing behaviour is not advisable on crowded urban roadway. It is hoped that information from this study may be useful for traffic control and individual moving strategy on urban roadway.     

A heterogeneous lattice gas model for simulating pedestrian evacuation

Based on the cellular automata method (CA model) and the mobile lattice gas model (MLG model), we have developed a heterogeneous lattice gas model for simulating pedestrian evacuation processes in an emergency. A local population density concept is introduced first. The update rule in the new model depends on the local population density and the exit crowded degree factor. The drift D, which is one of the key parameters influencing the evacuation process, is allowed to change according to the local population density of the pedestrians. Interactions including attraction, repulsion, and friction between every two pedestrians and those between a pedestrian and the building wall are described by a nonlinear function of the corresponding distance, and the repulsion forces increase sharply as the distances get small. A critical force of injury is introduced into the model, and its effects on the evacuation process are investigated. The model proposed has heterogeneous features as compared to the MLG model or the basic CA model. Numerical examples show that the model proposed can capture the basic features of pedestrian evacuation, such as clogging and arching phenomena.     

A three-zone simulation model for a air-cooled condensers

The present paper deals with the development of a mathematical model for the performance prediction of air-cooled condensers. The model considers the heat exchanger as formed by three distinct zones: de-superheater, condenser and subcooler. To make the model as generally applicable as possible, each piece of straight tube, between two return bends, is treated as a separate heat exchanger. The coil can thus be formed by any particular composition of straihgt tubes, enabling the overall effectiveness of each zone to be determined, with the use of correlations available in the literature. Zone-ending (starting of condensation or subcooling half-way along a tube) is also considered, with appropriate modelling. The energy balances over each zone, for both air and refrigerant streams, together with the effectiveness equations, form a set of non-linear equations, which are solved numerically. Despite its simplicity the method produces results comparable with those produced by more sophisticated local analyses. In the present paper six coil configurations are studied. Predicted results are compared with existing experimental data, with generally good agreement. A few possible applications of the method are also presented.     

基于教室人群疏散实验的行人流建模和模拟

基于教室人群疏散实验, 从中归纳出疏散过程中行人的基本运动特征. 将桌椅分别视为不可穿越和可穿越的静态障碍物, 而行人则被当成可移动的障碍物, 这将导致背景场随人群的运动而动态更新, 因此可以更好地反映前方拥挤程度对后面人群路径选择行为的影响. 采用基于动态背景场的元胞自动机模型研究了不同桌椅排列和出口宽度的教室人群疏散过程, 给出了疏散时间的空间分布以及平均和最大疏散时间, 再现了实验中人群疏散的基本特征. 数值模拟结果表明, 疏散时间取决于桌椅的排列方式和教室出口的宽度. 对于同一种排列, 出口越小则疏散时间越长; 对于给定的出口宽度, 通常随着过道数的增加, 疏散时间随之减少; 当过道数增加且过道宽度不足以两人并行, 从两侧进入过道的行人会发生冲突, 使疏散效率有所降低; 靠近出口一侧墙壁设置过道有利于人群的疏散. 文中进一步分析了模拟与实验结果存在差异的原因.     

大空间人群声学模型

经典扩散声场理论难以适用于大空间建筑。为了探究大空间建筑中人群分布对声场的影响,本文用模拟与实测相结合的方法,提出了一种适用于大空间的人群声学模型,得到了确定等效声源和人群声源的简化方法,以及人群密度与声压级之间、人群总数与发声人数之间的关系。用实测数据对该人群声学模型进行了验证。     

微腔内气体抽离的多尺度模拟与分析

基于适用于整个克努森数范围的流动理论,建立了去除惯性约束聚变实验中靶丸内空气的理论模型,并设计实验验证了此模型的可靠性。物理实验要求靶丸内空气浓度低于10×10⁻⁶,数值模拟了去除靶丸内空气的过程,重点分析了靶丸内空气浓度、压力与除气时间的关系。计算并比较了单管路一次抽气法、单管路循环抽气法与双管路流洗法三种去除靶丸内空气方法的时间成本。数值计算结果表明：单管路一次抽气法中,靶丸上的微通道的存在对去除靶丸内空气所需时间的影响不可忽略,在考虑靶丸上微通道与充气管的情况下,需要1961.77 h才能使靶丸内的空气浓度达到标准。单管路循环抽气法中,抽气次数与单次抽气程度会影响去除靶丸内空气所需总时间,在单次抽气程度值取最优的情况下,采用充三次,抽四次的方案可使达标总时间减少至1 h左右,此方案下单次充气和抽气时间分别为6 min和10 min。而采用双管路流洗法则仅需11 min便可使靶丸内空气浓度达标。     

Simulation of evacuation processes using a multi-grid model for pedestrian dynamics

Introducing the force concept of a social force model into the lattice gas (LG) model, a new LG-based discrete model entitled “multi-grid model” is composed. In the new model, finer lattice is used; thus each pedestrian occupies multiple grids instead of one, and the rules of interactions among pedestrians or pedestrians and constructions are built. The interaction forces including extrusion, repulsion and friction are considered as passive factors for evacuation. The strength of the drift, or the intensity of the pedestrians to move toward the exit rapidly, is considered an active factor. A simple situation is studied in which pedestrians try to evacuate from a large room with only one door. The influences of interaction forces and drift on evacuation time are analyzed. The mutual restriction relation of the two factors in the course of evacuating is found.     

三维空间行人疏散的元胞自动机模型

为了有效刻画行人在三维空间中的疏散状况,结合阶梯因素提出了一种新的三维元胞自动机模型,该模型首先基于位置吸引力和碰撞可能性给出了行人移动概率的计算公式,并通过定义元胞演化过程阐述其疏散策略,同时,利用建立的仿真平台进行实验,深入分析了疏散时间、出口流率、出口宽度、初始行人密度以及系统平均速度之间的关系,以此获得更加符合实际情况的行人流特征,结果表明,疏散时间、出口流率与初始行人密度呈现正相关,而与出口宽度呈现负相关,并且系统平均速度和出口宽度对于最优疏散时间存在一个理想阈值。     

A discussion of critical behaviour in a mixed-spin Ising model

The critical behaviour of a mixed and spin-1 Ising system is investigated by the use of the two-site cluster effective-field theory. The general expressions for evaluating the transition temperature and the tricritical point are obtained. Particular attention is drawn to the tricritical behaviour of the square lattice and it is shown that it strongly depends on the accuracy of calculations with a tendency to disappear when the accuracy is improved.     

海底混响仿真研究

提出了一种新颖的海底混响仿真工程实现模型.它是基于单元散射的理论,通过模拟海底混响形成的物理过程实现仿真,具有仿真效果好,工程上易于实现的特点.根据该模型实现的多通道海底混响模拟器功能强、柔软性好,所产生的海底混响仿真信号无论是在形式上还是在统计特性方面与实测海底混响相比较都有很好的一致性.此外,该模拟器还可以作为目标模拟器或者相控/束控信号源使用.     

双出口房间人群疏散的实验研究和数学建模

本文设计了一个双出口房间内人群疏散的实验方案,通过不同条件下疏散过程的实况录像及视频检测,得到不同人数疏散时间的许多定量结果.提出了双出口房间吸引区间的概念,证明了较小出口吸引区间的边界总是一段圆弧,可以解释行人流出口处的圆形成拱现象.通过类比地铁候车厅内人群疏散过程,建立了双出口房间内疏散时间的二次函数模型,成功拟合不同条件下的实测数据.疏散人数较少时,疏散时间随着人数增加而线性增长;人数较多,在出口附近出现待行区域时,疏散时间则呈二次函数增长.与一些已知疏散时间数学模型相比,本文模型对出口宽度变化的反应更敏感.     

微空心阴极放电的流体模型模拟

采用流体模型研究了微空心阴极放电(MHCD)的特点，对放电中电场的形成，电子和离子的密度分布，电子能量分布进行了数值模拟.该计算是针对高气压，圆筒形阴极结构下的He放电.结果表明放电中存在空心阴极效应，从电子能量分布可以看出，放电中存在高能电子，放电空间的电场分布主要表现为径向电场.此外，通过改变气压，阴极孔径等参数计算出它们对放电的影响.分析表明减小孔径有利于负辉区更充分的重合.提高气压将缩短阴极位降区. 关键词： 微空心阴极放电 流体模型