The relationship between obstructed and unobstructed walking speed: Results from an evacuation experiment in a smoke filled tunnel

Summary, in English

In order to increase the knowledge on human behavior in smoke, an evacuation experiment was performed in a road tunnel in Stockholm in July, 2014. The experiment included 66 participants, who individually were instructed to evacuate a smoke-filled tunnel. The experiment focused on measuring the participants’ walking speed in smoke-filled, as well as smoke-free parts of the tunnel. In addition, exit choice was studied. In this paper, the experiment is described, and novel data on walking speed in smoke is presented, including coupled data on unobstructed walking speed. In addition, a short presentation of the results related to way-finding and exit choice is included. It is clear that although this paper expands the current knowledge on walking speed in smoke, future research is necessary in order to conclude how to represent an individual’s walking speed in smoke. Recommendations on a way forward are suggested, and included is a review of the now currently available data-sets, as well as a suggestion for a future evacuation experiment.

• Författare: Karl Fridolf; Enrico Ronchi; Daniel Nilsson; Håkan Frantzich
• Redaktör: Karen Boyce
• Avdelning/ar: Avdelningen för Brandteknik
• Publiceringsår: 2015
• Språk: Engelska
• Sidor: 537-548
• Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie: [Host publication title missing]
• Dokumenttyp: Konferensbidrag
• Förlag: Interscience Communications Ltd
• Ämne: Infrastructure Engineering
• Nyckelord: Evacuation; experiment; human behavior in fire; walking speed; unobstructed; obstructed; smoke; tunnel; visibility; road tunnel; exit choice
• Conference name: International symposium on Human Behaviour in Fire, 2015
• Conference date: 2015-09-28 - 2015-09-30
• Conference place: Cambridge, United Kingdom
• Status: Published
• Forskningsgrupp: Evacuation
• ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt: ISBN: 978-0-9933933-0-3