Simulation of Pedestrian Evacuation Considering Cohesion of Social Groups on University Campus

  Objectives  Pedestrian and evacuation dynamics have attracted much attention in recent decades, specifically with respect to crowd risk analysis and pedestrian safety. In our daily life, individuals do not walk alone and they often walk with their friends or families because of the social relationship. However, the effect of group behavior observed in reality is rarely investigated in current studies.

  Methods  In this paper, movement data of pedestrian social groups on corridors and stairs are obtained through observation experiments on the university campus. Evacuation model for social groups is built based on Pathfinder software to study the bottlenecks in the process of egress.

  Results  The impact of group behavior on evacuation efficiency is investigated, and the results show that the density and speed in the bottleneck area are negatively correlated. More groups and stronger cohesion among group members will significantly extend the evacuation time. Besides, jam time increases due to the existence of social groups.

  Conclusions  The group behavior must be considered during the evacuation process in the future study. In the absence of other pedestrians needing help, pedestrians are encouraged to walk independently as much as possible to reduce the waiting times for others. At the same time, the negative effect of social groups on evacuation efficiency should be considered in the design of pedestrian facilities or public buildings.