A numerical study of contact force in competitive evacuation

Crowd force by the pushing or crushing of people has resulted in a number of accidents in recent decades. The aftermath investigations have shown that the physical interaction of a highly competitive crowd could produce dangerous pressure up to 4500 N/m, which leads to compressive asphyxia or even death. In this paper, a numerical model based on discrete element method(DEM) as referenced from granular flow was proposed to model the evacuation process of a group of highly competitive people, in which the movement of people follows Newton's second law and the body deformation due to compression follows Hertz contact model. The study shows that the clogs occur periodically and flow rate fluctuates greatly if all people strive to pass through a narrow exit at high enough desired velocity. Two types of contact forces acting on people are studied. The first one, i.e., vector contact force, accounts for the movement of the people following Newton's second law. The second one, i.e., scale contact force, accounts for the physical deformation of the human body following the contact law. Simulation shows that the forces chain in crowd flow is turbulent and fragile. A few narrow zones with intense forces are observed in the force field, which is similar to the strain localization observed in granular flow. The force acting on a person could be as high as 4500 N due to force localization, which may be the root cause of compressive asphyxia of people in many crowd incidents.     

Effect of a static pedestrian as an exit obstacle on evacuation

Building exit as a bottleneck structure is the last and the most congested stage in building evacuation. It is well known that obstacles at the exit affect the evacuation process, but few researchers pay attention to the effect of stationary pedestrians (the elderly with slow speed, the injured, and the static evacuation guide) as obstacles at the exit on the evacuation process. This paper explores the influence of the presence of a stationary pedestrian as an obstacle at the exit on the evacuation from experiments and simulations. We use a software, Pathfinder, based on the agent-based model to study the effect of ratios of exit width ($D$) to distance ($d$) between the static pedestrian and the exit, the asymmetric structure by shifting the static pedestrian upward, and types of obstacles on evacuation. Results show that the evacuation time of scenes with a static pedestrian is longer than that of scenes with an obstacle due to the unexpected hindering effect of the static pedestrian. Different ratios of $D/d$ have different effects on evacuation efficiency. Among the five $D/d$ ratios in this paper, the evacuation efficiency is the largest when $d$ is equal to $0.75D$, and the existence of the static pedestrian has a positive impact on evacuation in this condition. The influence of the asymmetric structure of the static pedestrian on evacuation efficiency is affected by $D/d$. This study can provide a theoretical basis for crowd management and evacuation plan near the exit of complex buildings and facilities.     

Simulation of pedestrian evacuation based on an improved dynamic parameter model

An improved dynamic parameter model is presented based on cellular automata. The dynamic parameters, including direction parameter, empty parameter, and cognition parameter, are formulated to simplify tactically the process of making decisions for pedestrians. The improved model reflects the judgement of pedestrians on surrounding conditions and the action of choosing or decision. According to the two-dimensional cellular automaton Moore neighborhood we establish the pedestrian moving rule, and carry out corresponding simulations of pedestrian evacuation. The improved model considers the impact of pedestrian density near exits on the evacuation process. Simulated and experimental results demonstrate that the improvement makes sense due to the fact that except for the spatial distance to exits, people also choose an exit according to the pedestrian density around exits. The impact factors α, β, and γ are introduced to describe transition payoff, and their optimal values are determined through simulation. Moreover, the effects of pedestrian distribution, pedestrian density, and the width of exits on the evacuation time are discussed. The optimal exit layout, i.e., the optimal position and width, is offered. The comparison between the simulated results obtained with the improved model and that from a previous model and experiments indicates that the improved model can reproduce experimental results well. Thus, it has great significance for further study, and important instructional meaning for pedestrian evacuation so as to reduce the number of casualties.     

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.     

Logit-based exit choice model of evacuation in rooms with internal obstacles and multiple exits

A logit-based discrete choice model is proposed to study the exit choice behaviour of evacuees in rooms with internal obstacles and multiple exits. Several factors influencing the exit choice behaviour, including the information obtained by evacuees, the tendency of following others, the visibility and familiarity of exits and the physical conditions of nearby exits, are considered. Evacuees are allowed to re-select their target exits for minimizing the perceived disutility during evacuation process. Numerical results from applying the model to cellular automata simulation of evacuation are presented and the effects of some model parameters on evacuation time are investigated.     

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.     

湿颗粒堆力学特性的离散元法模拟研究

利用基于线性黏聚接触模型的离散元法对不同颗粒系统的堆积过程进行了数值模拟研究,分析了颗粒形状和湿颗粒间液桥力对颗粒堆积形态的影响机理,获得了球形和块状湿颗粒堆基底表面所受的法向力以及堆中颗粒间的法向力和切向力"中心凹陷"式的分布规律,讨论了颗粒形状和黏聚能量密度对基底表面作用力和颗粒间作用力的影响.研究结果表明,颗粒形状和液桥力对颗粒堆的堆积形态具有显著的影响.堆积角随着黏聚能量密度的增加而增大,并且相同条件下的块状颗粒堆积角大于球形颗粒.颗粒形状和黏聚能量密度对基底表面所受作用力和堆中颗粒间的作用力变化及最大幅值均有影响作用.当黏聚能量密度值逐渐增大时,颗粒堆的作用力最大幅值均逐渐增大,并且块状颗粒堆的作用力最大幅值大于球形颗粒堆.当黏聚能量密度值过大时,颗粒堆力学特性更加复杂,液桥力对颗粒堆积特性的影响作用大于颗粒形状的影响.     

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.     

重力作用下颗粒介质应力链的离散元模拟

用离散元的方法模拟了仅有重力作用的二维颗粒系统内部力的分布情况,并根据力的大小得到颗粒之间的应力链.模拟结果与颗粒介质研究中的两个著名模型q模型和α模型作了对比,并与光弹实验的结果作了比较.对比结果表明,模拟结果与实验相似,而与两个概率模型有一定的差异.另外计算结果还表明,颗粒介质中力大小的概率分布极为不均匀,较大的力概率呈指数衰减,应力链的分布具有分形特征. 关键词： 颗粒介质 离散元 应力链 光弹实验     

A general finite element model for numerical simulation of structure dynamics

A finite element model used to simulate the dynamics with continuum and discontinuum is presented. This new approach is conducted by constructing the general contact model. The conventional discrete element is treated as a standard finite element with one node in this new method. The one-node element has the same features as other finite elements, such as element stress and strain. Thus, a general finite element model that is consistent with the existed finite element model is set up. This new model is simple in mathematical concept and is straightforward to be combined into the existing standard finite element code. Numerical example demonstrates that this new approach is more effective to perform the dynamic process analysis in which the interactions among a large number of discrete bodies and continuum objects are included.     

Discrete element simulation of localized deformation in stochastic distributed granular materials

The deformation in granular material under loading conditions is a problem of great interest currently. In this paper, the micro-mechanism of the localized deformations in stochastically distributed granular materials is investigated based on the modified distinct element method under the plane strain conditions, and the influences of the confining pressure, the initial void ratio and the friction coefficient on the localized deformation and the stability of granular materials are also studied. It is concluded, based on the numerical simulation testing, that two crossed shear sliding planes may occur inside the granular assembly, and deformation patterns vary with the increasing of transverse strain. These conclusions are in good agreement with the present experimental results. By tangential velocity profiles along the direction normal to the two shear sliding planes, it can be found that there are two different shear deformation patterns: one is the fluid-like shear mode and the other is the solid-like shear mode. At last, the influences of various material parameters or factors on localized deformation features and patterns of granular materials are discussed in detail. Supported by the Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10532040)     

巴西果效应分离过程的计算颗粒力学模拟研究

采用离散单元模型对巴西果问题进行了模拟研究,采用本数学模型可以准确地预测出垂直机械振动导致的不同大小颗粒的分离现象.分析了影响振动床内颗粒分层的因素,讨论了振动频率、振动幅度等参数对分层的影响,发现振动频率和振动幅度会对分离效果造成较大的影响.当振动频率或振动幅度较小时,颗粒整体分离效果都较差,但分离的稳定性较好,当振动频率或振动幅度较大时,整体分离效果仍然较差,同时分离的稳定性也较差,振动分离过程中存在一个频率和振幅适中的最优操作点. 关键词： 分层 振动 模式形成 离散单元方法     

颗粒堆内微观力学结构的离散元模拟研究

将离散单元法应用到三维堆积过程的模拟计算,探讨了滑动摩擦及滚动摩擦对堆积形成的影响,得到了颗粒堆内部的应力分布规律,发现颗粒堆的形态是由滑动摩擦和滚动摩擦共同决定的,在堆内颗粒间的作用力基本呈树状结构.在模拟得到的颗粒堆中出现了应力分布奇异现象,在堆积角较大的情况下,颗粒堆与地面间作用力的最大值常发生在距堆底中心不远的环状区域,而并非发生在堆底的中心;在堆积角相对较小时颗粒堆与地面间作用力的最大值较容易发生在堆底的中心.对于一个颗粒堆,具体会发生哪种受力情况具有一定的偶然性. 关键词： 堆积 离散单元法 计算颗粒力学     

Simulation of pedestrian counter flow through bottlenecks by using an agent-based model

Considerable research has been conducted on the topic of unidirectional evacuations from exits. However, few studies aim at simulating counter flow through a bottleneck with complex conflict. This paper proposes an agent-based model to investigate bidirectional flow evacuation. Pedestrian speed is determined by the speed of the leading agent and the surrounding agents. The moving direction of pedestrian originates from four forces, namely, gradient force, repulsive force, resistance force, and random force. These four forces dominate the main stream of the pedestrian moving trajectory, the interaction between pedestrians and their local environment, the resistance or disinclination to movement, and the random variations and chaotic nature of pedestrian dynamics. The novelty of this research is in the agent-based model that combines the agent and forces while providing insights for the simulation of the pedestrian dynamic on the cognitive level. The experiment results show that the behavior that arises from this model is consistent with the observations from Guangzhou Metro and that this model could help capture the essence of pedestrian behavior near egresses.     

基于超二次曲面的颗粒材料缓冲性能离散元分析

自然界或工业中普遍是由非球形颗粒组成的复杂体系,与球形颗粒相比,非球形颗粒间的高离散和咬合互锁可使冲击载荷引起的能量有效衰减实现缓冲作用.基于连续函数包络的超二次曲面单元能准确地描述非球形颗粒的几何形态,并可精确地计算单元间的接触碰撞作用.本文采用离散元方法对冲击载荷作用下非球形颗粒物质的缓冲性能进行数值分析,并与圆柱体冲击的理论结果和球体冲击的实验结果进行对比验证.在此基础之上,进一步研究了筒底作用力在不同颗粒层厚度和形状等因素影响下的变化规律.计算结果表明:不同颗粒形状都存在一个临界厚度H_c.当HH_c时,缓冲率随H的增加而增加;当HH_c时,缓冲率的变化不再显著并趋于稳定值.此外,减小颗粒表面尖锐度和增加或减小圆柱形和长方形颗粒的长宽比都会提高颗粒材料的缓冲效果.     

Modeling of pedestrian evacuation under fire emergency based on an extended heterogeneous lattice gas model

An extended heterogeneous lattice gas (E-HLG) model is developed by introducing an altitude factor into the heterogeneous lattice gas (HLG) model. The altitude factor is used to describe the position height of lattice sites. Evacuation features from a terrace classroom are investigated through simulations using both the model and experiments. To study evacuation processes under fire emergency, an agent-based fire and pedestrian interaction (FPI) model is proposed. It is supposed that the possible moving directions of a pedestrian depend on the environmental temperature field, which is simulated by the software FDS. The walking speed reduction due to the visibility worsening in the FPI model is described by a multi-grid method. It is found that simulation results based on the extended HLG model are in good agreement with the experiments. The altitude factor plays a guidance role to the evacuation, and the fire notably delays the evacuation due to both the harmfulness of the high temperature field and the change of evacuation routes which results in frequent local jamming and clogging.     

Structural signature and contact force distributions in the simulated three-dimensional sphere packs subjected to uniaxial compression

Packing of spherical particles in a three-dimensional cylindrical container is simulated by using Discrete Element Method.The packed bed of spheres is also subjected to vertical compression which results in a dense compact.Microstructures of the packing during compaction are examined in detail in terms of the contact number,deviator fabric,and radial distribution function.Furthermore,contact force distributions are measured at different locations in the pack,i.e.the centre,the side wall,and the base(or bott...     

面向杆系结构的离散元异步长计算方法

为了提升离散元法处理连续介质问题的计算效率, 提出一种基于重叠颗粒的离散元分区异步长计算方法来处理连续介质问题。该方法采用颗粒分割将连续介质划分为若干子分区, 各分区采用velocity-Verlet积分格式求解运动方程。相邻分区通过重叠颗粒构成局部耦合区域, 边界数据传递过程中不涉及插值和截断过程。数值算例表明, 该方法在保证高精度的同时有效地降低了计算时间。在实际应用中可以有针对性地将连续介质划分为不同尺度颗粒的分区, 根据问题规模及分区颗粒尺度特性采用不同时间步长, 节省存储空间且大幅提升计算效率。     

薄滚筒内二元湿颗粒体系混合行为的离散单元模拟研究

采用所建立的四方程线性弹性-阻尼离散单元模型,同时考虑了液桥力的作用,对填充量为40%、含液量为3%的水平薄滚筒内S型(不同直径颗粒)二元湿颗粒体系混合过程进行了数值模拟,并与同等操作条件下不含液的干颗粒体系的混合行为进行了比较,分析了液体对颗粒体系混合行为的影响. 同时还将计算结果与文献中的实验结果进行了比较. 结果表明,由于湿颗粒间液桥力的牵引作用使不同性质的颗粒不易分离,使部分颗粒聚结成团,减弱了离析作用的影响,使得滚筒内湿颗粒的混合程度高于相同条件下的干颗粒体系,且接触力的分布较干颗粒体系更加均匀. 通过对混合过程的模拟,直观地反映了混合过程中颗粒的微观运动特性和内部的力学结构,为研究湿颗粒体系混合过程机理提供了依据和参考. 关键词： 湿颗粒体系 混合 分离 离散单元法