Improving competitive evacuations with a vestibule structure designed from panel-like obstacles

TL;DR

This study investigates how the design of vestibule structures with panel-like obstacles influences pedestrian evacuation efficiency, demonstrating that specific parameter adjustments can optimize flow and prevent clogging.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of vestibule configurations with two or three entries, showing how to control density and flow through obstacle placement and surface friction.

Findings

Three-entry vestibules can maximize evacuation flow under certain configurations.

Adjusting obstacle distance and friction controls density and flow.

Optimal density for evacuation efficiency is around 2 ± 2.

Abstract

It has been shown that placing an obstacle in front of an exit door has proven to be a successful method to improve pedestrian evacuations. In this work, we will focus on the space limited by the exit and the obstacles (i.e. the vestibule structure). We analyzed two different types of vestibules: the two-entry vestibule (which consists of a single panel-like obstacle) and the three-entry vestibule (which consists of two panel-like obstacles). In the former, we studied the effects of varying the walls' friction coefficient $\kappa_w$ and the distance from the obstacle to the exit door $d$. In the latter, we varied the space between the two panels (gap). We found that the three above mentioned parameters control the vestibule's density, which subsequently affects the evacuation flow (fundamental diagram). We have also found that reducing the distance $d$ or increasing the friction facilitates the formation of blocking clusters at the vestibule entries, and hence, diminishes the density. If the density is too large or too low, the evacuation flow is suboptimal, whereas if the density is around $2 \pm 2$, the flow is maximized. Our most important result is that the density (and therefore the evacuation flow) can be precisely controlled by $\kappa_w$, $d$, and the gap. Moreover, the three-entry vestibule produced the highest evacuation flow for specific configurations of the gap and the distance from the panels to the door.