Simulation of Evacuation Processes in a Large Classroom Using an Improved Cellular Automaton Model for Pedestrian Dynamics

Abstract

An improved cellular automaton model is proposed to simulate the evacuation processes in a large classroom by considering the different exit choosing and movement rules. The effects of the different influence coefficients on the evacuation time are investigated, and the typical characteristics of space-time dynamics are analyzed. The numerical simulations show that the model can better reproduce realistic evacuation phenomena, such as route-choice behaviors and bottleneck effects at the exits. Especially, when the distance to exit and the local density distribution of pedestrians are considered synthetically, the evacuation time can be reduced apparently, which is more reasonable and realistic.