GPSS COMPUTER SIMULATION OF AIRCRAFT PASSENGER EMERGENCY EVACUATIONS

Abstract

The costs of civil air transport emergency evacuation demonstrations using human subjects have risen as seating capacities of these aircraft have increased. Repeated tests further increase the costs and also the risks of injuries to participants. A method to simulate such evacuations, by use of a computer model based on statistics from measured components of the escape path, has been developed. This model uses the General Purpose Simulation System (GPSS) computer programing language to represent various features of the escape process; e.g., seating and exit configurations, passenger mix, door-opening delays, time on escape slides, slide capacity, and redirection of passengers to equalize escape lines. Results of simulated evacuations from the DC-10, L-1011, and B-747 aircraft and a military aircraft are reported. These results have been compared with results of certification demonstrations from the DC-10, L-1011, and B-747. Comparisons of exit size substitutions were evaluated as a means of estimating differences in escape potential for exit design optimization. (Author)