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The Impact of Physical Distancing on the Evacuation of Crowds

Ronchi, Enrico LU orcid ; Nilsson, Daniel ; Lovreglio, Ruggiero LU ; Register, Mikayla and Marshall, Kyla (2021) In Modeling and Simulation in Science, Engineering and Technology 3. p.133-156
Abstract

One of the key implications of COVID-19 is the adoption of physical distancing provisions to minimise the risk of virus transmission. Physical distancing can have significant consequences on crowd movement both in normal conditions and during emergencies. The impact of physical distancing is discussed in this chapter by first presenting an overview of its implications on crowd dynamics and space usage. This is followed by an assessment of expected changes in crowd behaviour, including changes in the fundamental walking speed/density and flow/density relationships. Findings from an experiment investigating the impact of physical distancing on flow rates through doors are presented. In addition, a set of recommendations concerning... (More)

One of the key implications of COVID-19 is the adoption of physical distancing provisions to minimise the risk of virus transmission. Physical distancing can have significant consequences on crowd movement both in normal conditions and during emergencies. The impact of physical distancing is discussed in this chapter by first presenting an overview of its implications on crowd dynamics and space usage. This is followed by an assessment of expected changes in crowd behaviour, including changes in the fundamental walking speed/density and flow/density relationships. Findings from an experiment investigating the impact of physical distancing on flow rates through doors are presented. In addition, a set of recommendations concerning modifications of the hand calculations currently used for evacuation design (e.g. hydraulic models) are presented alongside a discussion on possible modifications to agent-based crowd models. A verification test to evaluate the results produced by crowd evacuation modelling tools considering physical distancing is also presented. This chapter highlights the importance of considering the increased movement time due to physical distancing in evacuation design and provides insights on how to account for this issue in crowd modelling.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
COVID-19, Crowd dynamics, Crowd movement, Evacuation modelling, Physical distance, Social distance
host publication
Crowd Dynamics : Modeling and Social Applications in the Time of COVID-19 - Modeling and Social Applications in the Time of COVID-19
series title
Modeling and Simulation in Science, Engineering and Technology
volume
3
pages
24 pages
publisher
Birkhäuser Verlag
external identifiers
  • scopus:85126509649
ISSN
2164-3725
2164-3679
ISBN
978-3-030-91645-9
978-3-030-91647-3
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-91646-6_6
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4ac51937-2545-44d6-a5a5-5b521b3608fb
date added to LUP
2022-05-03 10:48:54
date last changed
2024-06-27 13:37:19
@inbook{4ac51937-2545-44d6-a5a5-5b521b3608fb,
  abstract     = {{<p>One of the key implications of COVID-19 is the adoption of physical distancing provisions to minimise the risk of virus transmission. Physical distancing can have significant consequences on crowd movement both in normal conditions and during emergencies. The impact of physical distancing is discussed in this chapter by first presenting an overview of its implications on crowd dynamics and space usage. This is followed by an assessment of expected changes in crowd behaviour, including changes in the fundamental walking speed/density and flow/density relationships. Findings from an experiment investigating the impact of physical distancing on flow rates through doors are presented. In addition, a set of recommendations concerning modifications of the hand calculations currently used for evacuation design (e.g. hydraulic models) are presented alongside a discussion on possible modifications to agent-based crowd models. A verification test to evaluate the results produced by crowd evacuation modelling tools considering physical distancing is also presented. This chapter highlights the importance of considering the increased movement time due to physical distancing in evacuation design and provides insights on how to account for this issue in crowd modelling.</p>}},
  author       = {{Ronchi, Enrico and Nilsson, Daniel and Lovreglio, Ruggiero and Register, Mikayla and Marshall, Kyla}},
  booktitle    = {{Crowd Dynamics : Modeling and Social Applications in the Time of COVID-19}},
  isbn         = {{978-3-030-91645-9}},
  issn         = {{2164-3725}},
  keywords     = {{COVID-19; Crowd dynamics; Crowd movement; Evacuation modelling; Physical distance; Social distance}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{133--156}},
  publisher    = {{Birkhäuser Verlag}},
  series       = {{Modeling and Simulation in Science, Engineering and Technology}},
  title        = {{The Impact of Physical Distancing on the Evacuation of Crowds}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91646-6_6}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/978-3-030-91646-6_6}},
  volume       = {{3}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}