The effect of symmetrical exit layout on luggage-laden pedestrian movement in the double-exit room

Author: Shi, Z. G., Zhang, J., Shang, Z. G., Jiang, K. C., Song, W. G., Yao, B.

DOI:  10.1016/j.ssci.2022.105874

Keywords: Luggage -laden pedestrians, Symmetrical exit layout, Exit choice, Traffic hubs, Pedestrian movement, evacuation process, flow, choice, impact, speed, Engineering

Abstract: 

Understanding the movement mechanism of luggage-laden pedestrians in traffic hubs helps to reduce the congestion caused by the luggage. The pedestrian movement with three luggage ratios (10%, 30%, 50%) is conducted experimentally in the double-exit room. The seven symmetrical exit layouts are analyzed. The main findings are: (i) With the increasing luggage ratio, the density distribution map in front of the bottleneck changes from a circle to a long strip in the double-exit room. (ii) Right preferences of exit choice are observed in non -luggage pedestrians but not in luggage-laden pedestrians. (iii) The crowd has a greater speed when luggage -laden pedestrians leave the crowd on the right side than on the left, but it does not help enhance the flow rate. The results showed that the symmetrical exit layout does influence the movement efficiency of luggage -laden pedestrians.