Analysis of Indoor Guided Pedestrian Evacuation Dynamics in Single- and Multiple-Exit Scenarios: Toward a Unified Scheme for Guide Assignment

Abstract

Indoor pedestrian evacuation processes could be significantly affected by the presence of guides, that is, safety management staff; how to assign guides properly remains a challenging task. This question is deconstructed into single- and multiple-exit scenarios for analysis in this study. The mechanisms behind the evacuation dynamics are explored via a two-layer guided pedestrian evacuation model and the corresponding guide assignment strategies are proposed. The upper layer model deals with guide assignment, where random and uniform guide assignment schemes, and a newly proposed distribution-based guide assignment scheme, are embedded, while the lower layer model controls the movement of evacuees based on a cellular automata model. Results show that there are bifurcate mechanisms governing evacuation dynamics. Only in single-exit scenarios could an increased number of guides lead to a “sharp decrease–long steady tail” tendency in total evacuation time, whereas evacuation efficiency in multiple-exit scenarios is consistent with exit use equilibrium. The three different guide assignment schemes bring about highly case-specific performances depending on the initial pedestrian distribution and the number of exits. The distribution-based guide assignment scheme is preferable in most cases, especially in spaces with a highly biased pedestrian distribution and multiple exits.