Performance & Optimization of M/G/c/c Building Evacuation Networks

Evacuation networks from buildings represent a complex architectural and engineering phenomenon. The problem is fundamentally a transient stochastic process embedded on a three-dimensional graph network topology. Not only is the analysis of the problem challenging, but synthesizing the way occupants should exit the facility is also problematic. This paper addresses the two key concerns in the evacuation problem: performance analysis and their optimization. Two facilities on the University of Massachusetts campus provide the backdrop and case studies for this paper. Extensive computational results support the theoretical decomposition approach to the problems.