Simulation-based framework for evaluating the evacuation performance of the passenger terminal building in a Ro-Pax terminal
Introduction
As the key passenger facility of the Roll on/Roll off-Passenger terminal, the passenger terminal building (Ro-Pax PTB) provides passengers with services of ticket purchase/pickup, security check, waiting area seating and check-ins [1]. One of the most severe emergency situations that can be experienced in a Ro-Pax PTB is a fire event. Generally, a Ro-Pax vessel is rated to accommodate more than 1000 passengers. Thus, when the check-in gate is about to open, the passengers will line up between the seats. And a high population density will be reached in proximity to the check-in gate. Once a fire incident breaks out, a large risk comes into being as a large crowd of evacuees may be stranded. Thus, to ensure an acceptable level of life safety, emphasis should be laid on the evacuation performance of the Ro-Pax PTB in the event of a fire.
Performance-based analyses are used more frequently to evaluate the evacuation performance of the proposed building design [2]. In performance-based fire safety design, engineers attempt to evaluate whether a building design allows occupants sufficient time to evacuate before fire conditions become untenable. The criterion is that the time before conditions become untenable (Available Safe Egress Time, ASET) always exceeds the required time to completely evacuate from the facility (Required Safe Egress Time, RSET). Evacuation simulation is increasingly employed to evaluate the RSET, i.e., the amount of time required for the occupants to reach a user defined point of safety [3,4]. For example, Kallianiotis et al. [5] simulate the evacuation process in an underground metro station in Greece by using a software package called Pathfinder, and examine the influence of occupants' speeds and exit choices on evacuation action time. Zhang et al. [6] develop a hybrid approach using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Pathfinder to determine the RSET of the Si Men Kou metro station. To estimate evacuation capacity of subway stations, Wu et al. [7] build a bi-level programming model of evacuee equilibrium, to ensure the maximum utilization of facilities and to minimize the evacuation action time. Shi et al. [8] propose an engineering calculation method for the metro station evacuation time and conduct the simulation of evaluation process in different fire cases. Zhong et al. [9] adopt an agent-based grid model to simulate the process of occupant evacuation from a deeply buried metro station to determine its evacuation capacity. Zhang et al. [10] develop a simulation-based multi-attribute decision approach to route choice planning, which considers the uncertainties and dynamics underlying pedestrian behaviors, and the complex interaction between pedestrians and the traffic. Lo et al. [11] propose an agent-based passenger movement model considering the crowding and passenger movement pattern. Moreover, the evacuation simulation is also applied to marine emergency evacuation [12]. Ni et al. [13] propose an agent-based model involving in goal-driven decision-making, path planning and movement, to assess the evacuation capabilities of passenger vessels. Hu et al. [14] apply a multi-grid model to simulate the passenger evacuation process in cruise ships. Vanem and Ellis [15] evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a RFID-based (Radio Frequency Identification) passenger monitoring system for improved evacuation performance of passenger ships. Ping et al. [16] simulate emergency evacuation in an offshore semi-submersible drilling platform and quantify the influence of evacuation route selection on evacuation efficiency. Kim et al. [17] implement a passenger evacuation simulation that considers the continuous change of the heeling angle during sinking.
In addition, relevant studies have been carried out on quantifying the relationships between the layout of infrastructures and the egress exits and the emergency evacuation performance. Lei et al. [18] analyze the effects of occupant density, exit width and ticket gates on evacuation time within the subway. Li et al. [19] find that stairs and gates are bottlenecks during the evacuation by applying Pathfinder software to simulate passenger evacuation in a Guangzhou subway station. Zhong et al. [20] analyze the impacts of evacuation guidance, customs barriers, airport seats and construction columns on evacuation action time. Ding [21] analyzes the influence of dividing walls on the evacuation performance. Shiwakoti, et al. [22] present a critical review on the performance of an obstacle near an exit, and finds that although there is a general consensus on the beneficial effect of an obstacle, there is a large uncertainty about the situations in which such positive effect could be observed. Wang et al. [23] study on the relationships between the length of buffer zone and the average velocity, crowd density or evacuation time. Naser [24] improves structure resilience to mitigate premature failure, such as collapse under fire or earthquake, thus providing occupants with sufficient time to evacuate. Shiwakoti and Sarvi [25] study how the layout of the escape area effects collective movement patterns under panic. Kallianiotis and Kaliampakos [26] suggest that the location of the exit doors/routes is of primary importance among all factors influencing the evacuation effectiveness. Fridolf et al. [27] perform an evacuation experiment to study the effectiveness of different way-finding installations and emergency exit design inside a tunnel and to collect data on movement speeds and human behaviors.
Researchers have conducted extensive studies on the emergency evacuation in complex facilities and passenger vessels in the event of a fire. However, limited research has been conducted on the passenger evacuation in the Ro-Pax PTB. Thus, this paper focuses on how to evaluate the evacuation performance of a Ro-Pax PTB. According to performance-based analysis, the RSET in the worst-case scenario is needed to obtain and then compared to the ASET. Thus, the key to solve this problem is to find out the worst-case scenario for evacuation performance evaluation. However, the Ro-Pax PTB presents its unique characteristics from the perspective of fire safety engineering. For example, the occupant load and initial passenger distributions are the main factors affecting the evacuation efficiency. For the Ro-Pax PTB, the occupant load depends on its layout design, the Ro-Pax vessel schedules, and the randomness in passenger arrivals. While the initial passenger distributions are closely related to the operation process and passenger movements in the Ro-Pax PTB (See Section 2.1). Moreover, after security check, the passengers will choose seats as close as possible to their check-in gate. So, the arrangement of seats and check-in gates plays an important role in distributing passenger flows, and the seats also have a positive or negative influence on evacuation as obstacles. Consequently, these dynamics and uncertainties in the occupant load, passenger distribution and fire incident, make it difficult to obtain the RSET in the worst-case scenario for a Ro-Pax PTB. Therefore, considering its unique characteristics of the Ro-Pax PTB, a systematic simulation-based framework is proposed in this research. In terms of the issue, the contributions of this study are threefold.
- (1)
There are few studies on passenger evacuation in the Ro-Pax PTB. This paper considers its unique characteristics and uncertainties during the operation process and passenger movements in the Ro-Pax PTB, especially the dynamics and uncertainties of passenger distributions. And a simulation-based framework is proposed to identify critical issues that may arise during the evacuation in a Ro-Pax PTB. The framework is testified through the study case of a Ro-Pax PTB in Dalian, China. And it also shows the capability of decision support for improving the internal layout design and operation management of the Ro-Pax PTB from the viewpoint of emergency evacuation performance.
- (2)
A systematic simulation-based framework is developed to evaluate the evacuation performance of a Ro-Pax PTB based on the ASET and RSET comparison. The framework is not only to evaluate the timeframe required for the passenger evacuation in the worst-case scenario, but also to assist in a proactive improvement in the layout design and operation management and mitigation of possible negative effects. This is achieved by applying simulation modelling to simulate passenger movements under normal operation and under a variety of different emergency scenarios considering the uncertainties in the fire incident, occupant load, population group and passenger distribution.
- (3)
The analysis of study case is conducted in a specific Ro-Pax PTB with the guidelines of Chinese design codes for passenger transportation building and fire protection and prevention. Thus, the results are affected by the features of the Ro-Pax PTB layout and Ro-Pax vessel schedules used as a case study. Nevertheless, the methodology can be used in any Ro-Pax PTB and the conclusions emerged provide insight into the selection of the initial distribution of passengers.
This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 describes the layout of the Ro-Pax PTB and the operation process in the Ro-Pax PTB. And the performance criterion and the challenge of evacuation evaluation are also discussed for the Ro-Pax PTB. Then a systematic simulation-based evacuation performance evaluation framework is proposed for the Ro-Pax PTB in Section 3. In Section 4, a Ro-Pax PTB in Dalian, China is selected as a study case to discuss how to apply the proposed framework in evaluating and improving the evacuation performance of the Ro-Pax PTB. Finally, conclusions and future studies are presented in Section 5.
Section snippets
The Ro-Pax PTB layout and its operation process
Fig. 1 shows the layout of the Ro-Pax PTB for outbound passengers in Dalian Ro-Pax Terminal, China. The Ro-Pax PTB mainly provides outbound passengers with ticket purchase/pickup, security check, waiting area seating and check-ins services. Thus, as shown in Fig. 1, the Ro-Pax PTB is divided into several function zones including the queue area for ticket (QAT), arrival lounges (AL1 and AL2), security checking area (SCA), departure lounges (DL1, DL2 and DL3), toilets, and other office areas
Overall framework
In view of the uncertainties as aforementioned, we propose a simulation-based framework to evaluate the evacuation performance for the Ro-Pax PTB using AnyLogic and Pathfinder software. The proposed framework comprises a SM-PTO model and a Simulation Model of Passenger Evacuation (SM-PE model). The SM-PTO model created in AnyLogic software is built to output the occupant load and passenger distribution at any given time, considering the complex layout of the Ro-Pax PTB, the randomness of
Case study
The layout of the Ro-Pax PTB and the dimensions of each function zone are shown in Fig. 1. When the fire breaks out, the passengers evacuate to safety assembly points via available entrances/exits, whose widths are listed in Table 1. Moreover, more than 900 seats are installed in the AL1, AL2, DL1, DL2 and DL3, which are arranged as shown in Fig. 1 (a). The maximum number of seats in each row is 18, the width between two rows of seats is 1.3 m, and the width of aisles between seats is 1.5 m.
Conclusions
The passenger terminal building is the key passenger facility of the Roll on/Roll off-Passenger terminal (Ro-Pax PTB). Thus, to ensure an acceptable level of life safety, particular care should be given to the evacuation performance of the Ro-Pax PTB in the event of a fire. However, the complexity and uncertainties in the Ro-Pax PTB layout and operation process, stochastic passenger arrivals and passenger movements, make it difficult to identify the worst-case scenario and to evaluate the
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation, China (Grant No. 51579035) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. DUT18JC29).
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