Analysis of Evacuation Efficiency for Differently-Abled People in Multi-Layered Buildings Based on Assistance Ratio

Abstract

The term “differently-abled” refers to people with mobility difficulties, including the disabled and the elderly. In order to explore the optimal evacuation efficiency, in emergencies, of different floors in multi-layered buildings where differently-abled people reside, this study has established a mixed evacuation model based on the characteristics of the evacuation behavior of differently-abled people and non-differently-abled people. This model simulated the impact of evacuation strategies on different floors for differently-abled people at various assistance ratios. Through the comparative analysis of various evacuation strategies, an evacuation efficiency analysis model was constructed, which is suitable for multi-layered buildings where differently-abled people reside. The research indicates that, for stair-determined evacuation strategies, when the proportion of assisting personnel exceeds 70%, there is a noticeable improvement in overall evacuation efficiency. For elevator-determined evacuation strategies, evacuating middle floors with unrestricted methods can enhance evacuation efficiency. The analysis model for optimal evacuation efficiency on each floor that is presented in this study, using a five-story building as an example, can clearly and accurately determine evacuation strategies for multi-layered buildings where differently-abled people reside.

Keywords

• differently-abled people (DP)
• assistance ratio (AR)
• emergency evacuation (EE)
• multi-layered buildings (MB)