Infrastructure Engineering - Theses
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ItemCrowd Dynamic Modeling and Simulation( 2021)The ability to accurately model and simulate the interactions between pedestrians and the natural environment is a matter of interest in the crowd dynamics field. A primary objective is to optimise the design of entry and exit points and thus provide safe passage in crowded venues such as schools, theatres, mosques, airports, railway stations, concert halls and football stadiums. Therefore, understanding the dynamics of crowd behaviour is important for improving the safety of crowds. People’s movements are affected by interactions with other individuals and the environment. The interactions between humans and physical objects are of particular concern in crowd movement, especially during an emergency, and require further study. Pedestrian simulation has been recognised as a tool that provides a robust framework for understanding crowd dynamics in a complex environment and for predicting crowd density during an extreme event. However, for pedestrian simulations to produce reliable numerical simulation outputs, they must be calibrated using reliable experimental data so that they can produce reasonable results. Therefore, investigating the effects of factors such as pedestrian competition levels in normal and emergency conditions, and crowd density on the behaviour of pedestrians is an important topic. In this study, we performed experiments focusing on the interaction of crowds and their surrounding physical situation; specifically, we observed how pedestrians avoid obstructions in a compound indoor environment at different speed levels (low–high) and density levels (low–high). This research aimed to study the effect of the various sizes of obstacles (1.2 m, 2.4 m, 3.6 m and 4.8 m) on human behaviour (walking and running) at particular density levels (or flow rates). Several factors that affect the movement of pedestrians around objects were studied using macro-and micro-level approaches. The results were then utilised to enhance a pedestrian simulation model developed at the University of Melbourne over the past 10 years. The outcome of this study was used to investigate the obstacles' positions, the exit locations, and the placement of obstacles around the exit to improve the movement of crowds under normal and emergency conditions.