Relationship between Performance-based Design of Building Exits and State Transition of Pedestrian Flow during Occupant Evacuation

Abstract

A discrete “social force” cellular automata model is applied to simulate the occupant evacuation in densely occupied buildings. The relationship between the state transition of pedestrian flow and the exit structure, including the exit width d and the exit separation f, are investigated. Discussions on the appropriate placement of exits and the relationship between the optimal value of f and building size will be useful for the performance-based design of building exits.