Experimental studies of pedestrian flows under different boundary conditions

TL;DR

This study empirically compares pedestrian flow dynamics under various boundary conditions using the Voronoi method, revealing how boundary constraints affect flow characteristics at different densities.

Contribution

It provides new empirical insights into how boundary conditions influence pedestrian flow dynamics, especially at higher densities, using high-resolution measurement techniques.

Findings

Open corridors show increasing flow with density up to 4 m-2.

Restrained outflow systems maintain constant specific flow.

Closed periodic systems exhibit decreasing flow as density increases.

Abstract

In this article the dynamics of pedestrian streams in four different scenarios are compared empirically to investigate the influence of boundary conditions on it. The Voronoi method, which allows high resolution and small fluctuations of measured density in time and space, is used to analyze the experiments. It is found that pedestrian movement in systems with different boundary conditions (open, periodic boundary conditions and outflow restrained) presents various characteristics especially when the density is larger than 2 m-2. In open corridor systems the specific flow increases continuously with increasing density till 4 m-2. The specific flow keeps constant in systems with restrained outflow, whereas it decreases from 1 (m.s)-1 to zero in system with closed periodical condition.