SIMULATION OF HUMAN EVACUATION IN CASE OF FIRE USING PATHFINDER SOFTWARE

Abstract

This research analyses scientific publications that highlight the problems of evacuation of people during emergencies and the latest methods, techniques and strategies. It is determined that the PATHFINDER software complex gives a more accurate calculation compared to the simplified analytical model. The PATHFINDER software complex allows to simulate evacuation in various buildings and areas. Moreover it gives a wider range of possibilities, such as: simulation of evacuation of people with disabilities; ability to set and adjust the speed of agents in different sections of the escape route; the presence of a function that regulates the onset of movement of agents in a given behaviour. In this work the computer simulation of the actual time of evacuation of people from the integral property complex of industrial and household facilities was carried out. The duration of the evacuation of people from the rooms of buildings and structures bases on the model of the movement of people to the exit in one of the following ways: based on a simplified analytical model of human flow; based on a mathematical model of the individual-flowing movement of people from a building or structure; based on a simulation-stochastic model of human flows. These calculations were performed in accordance with the recommendations and instructions using the PATHFINDER software for the two most likely fire scenarios. According to the scenario, the fire occurred in the room with the highest fire-hazardous load or in the room with the smallest volume:scenario 1 - fire occurs in the hot shop; scenario 2 - a fire occurs in the administrative room. The software provides an opportunity to quickly calculate various ways of evacuating people from the rooms. The use of PATHFINDER software gives more accurate results than the calculation given in regulatory document, due to the greater detalization of the evacuation calculation, and also helps to avoid possible errors and reduce calculation errors.