Interdependencia de flujos cuando confluyen en evacuaciones de túneles ferroviarios

RESUMEN: Los procesos de evacuación en túneles son complejos. Conocer la dinámica de la confluencia de flujos de pasajeros (cantidad de personas que pasan por un punto dado en un periodo de tiempo determinado) durante la evacuación, puede tener implicaciones importantes para la seguridad en el interior de los túneles ferroviarios. Por lo tanto, este documento explora la interdependencia entre el flujo procedente del pasillo lateral del túnel y el flujo que sale del tren cuando confluyen. La primera parte del trabajo explica, por un lado, los experimentos desarrollados para la toma de datos analizando ocho configuraciones diferentes de salida de tren. Se empleó una maqueta de una salida de un coche de tren y una pasarela lateral y estuvieron involucrados 77 participantes (edad promedio: 48 años, desviación estándar: 15 años, rango: 18-74 años). Para el análisis de los datos recopilados se propusieron nuevas mediciones y métodos de procesamiento de datos que permiten realizar análisis estadísticos. Por otro lado, se realizaron simulaciones para analizar la manera en que los modelos computacionales desarrollan este tipo de experimentos. En una segunda parte del trabajo se muestran los resultados. Se encontraron evidencias cuantitativas de las preferencias entre flujos. Con la altura de la salida del tren a 0 m, hubo una ligera preferencia a favor de la pasarela, se encontró un pequeño dominio del flujo de la pasarela cuando la salida del tren es de 0.8 m de altura y, por último, resultó que cuando la diferencia de altura con la salida del tren es de 1.2 m el flujo de la pasarela tuvo una clara prioridad. Esto tuvo lugar a pesar de los comportamientos de deferencia observados entre los participantes. Por último, en el desarrollo de las simulaciones, se encontraron limitaciones en el modelo computacional para la representación de los experimentos. Este trabajo tiene como primer objetivo proporcionar un nuevo método para el desarrollo y validación de herramientas nuevas y actuales de modelado de evacuación. Como segundo objetivo, se espera una mejora en la comprensión del proceso de confluencia entre flujos durante la evacuación en túneles ferroviarios.ABSTRACT: Evacuations in tunnels are complex processes. Understanding the dynamics of the merging flows of passengers (number of people crossing a given point in a given period of time) during the evacuation, can have important implications for safety inside the railway tunnels. Therefore, this document explores the interdependence between the flow from the lateral walkway of the tunnel and the flow from the train exit when they merge. The first part of the document is divided into two sections. On the one hand, the document explains the experiments developed for data collection with the analysis of eight different train exit configurations. A mock-up of a train exit and a lateral walkway was built and 77 participants were involved (average age: 48 years, standard deviation: 15 years, range: 18-74 years). New measurements and data processing methods were proposed for the analysis of the data collection that allow statistical analysis. On the other hand, simulations were carried out to analyze the way of computer models develop this type of experiments. The second part of the work shows the results. Quantitative evidence of preferences between flows was found. With a train exit height of 0 m there was a slight priority of the walkway, a small preference of the walkway appeared when the train is 0.8 m in height and there was a clear priority of the walkway when the height difference with the train exit is 1.2 m. This took place despite the deference behaviors observed among participants. Finally, limitations of the computational model were found for the representation of the experiments during the development of the simulations. The main objective of this work is to provide a new method for the development and validation of new and current evacuation modeling tools. As a second objective, an improvement in the understanding of the merge process of flows during the evacuation in railway tunnels is expected.Máster en Investigación en Ingeniería civi

Plan for improving mobility in the región of Siete Villas (Cantabria), by the implementation of a cycle path network

El análisis de la situación actual de movilidad en los núcleos urbanos de San Miguel de Meruelo, Castillo, Soano y Noja, refleja un uso excesivo del automóvil privado para la realización de viajes cotidianos, dentro de cada núcleo y entre los distintos núcleos, cuya razón reside en la escasez de vías alternativas para emplear otro modo de transporte. Por esta razón, y teniendo en cuenta la ventajosa orografía de la zona, se propone la implantación de una red ciclista cómoda, segura y atractiva para los usuarios. Esta red está formada por cuatro tipos de vías ciclistas tipo como carriles-bici, aceras-bici, sendas-bici y uso compartido entre distintos modos. Exceptuando en un par de zonas, la red ciclista está segregada del resto de modos, separada por bordillos (de 10 y 15 cm de altura) o arbolado. Se establecen en los puntos en los que se ha considerado necesario, medidas de calmado de tráfico para reducir la velocidad de los vehículos a motor. Con estas actuaciones se aumenta la seguridad percibida por parte de los ciclistas. Los tramos que carecen de segregación física diferencian la vía ciclista mediante marcas viales. En los tramos en los que se establece acera-bici la vía ciclista se sitúa a la misma cota que los peatones. En los tramos de uso compartido con los vehículos la velocidad de circulación se reduce a 30 km/h. La senda-bici circula completamente segregada del resto de modos. En las rotondas la vía ciclista circula a una cota superior a la de los vehículos, para que de esta manera se aumente la seguridad de los usuarios de la red ciclista. La capa de rodadura de los carriles-bici será un microaglomerado en frío de color rojo, favoreciendo así la percepción de la vía ciclista no sólo para sus usuarios, sino también para los conductores de vehículos a motor. Como complementos para mejorar el funcionamiento de la red se diseñan un aparcamiento disuasorio y una pasarela prefabricada de madera. Por último, para aumentar la funcionalidad de la red, se instalarán en puntos estratégicos una serie de aparcabicicletas para que los usuarios puedan estacionarlas de forma segura. Las vías que conforman la red suman un total de 14,35 km.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.ETSECCP). Enxeñaría de Obras Públicas. Curso 2014/201

Measuring social influence and group formation during evacuation process

Evacuees are likely to respond and move forming groups. However specific data about grouping is generally unavailable and the relationship between response and movement times and specific groupings are unknown. Using a simple method, we measure behavioural cohesion of occupants during evacuation processes. The case study involves using the method in a bus station, a sport centre and a library. Results suggest that proximity (visual/verbal contact) is an important factor but not decisive in the formation of evacuation groups. Social ties and whether occupants share a target and/or an activity before the alarm are also deemed to be important factors. This provides an exciting opportunity to advance our knowledge of social influence and group formation during evacuation.The authors would like to thank the European Union for the LETS-CROWD project received funding from the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the grant agreement Nº 740466 and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for DEFENDER Project Grant, Ref: BIA2015-64866-R, co-funded by ERDS funds

Interdependence of flows when merge in rail tunnel evacuations

The understanding of merging flows during evacuation can have important implications for rail tunnels safety. This paper explores the interdependence of the merging of flows coming from the walkway with those exiting the train. Eight train exit configurations were tested using a mock-up of a rail car exit and a lateral walkway involving 77 participants (mean age 48; standard deviation 15; range 18-74). New measurements and data processing methods are proposed allowing statistical analysis to be performed. The results provide quantitative evidence of the preferences between flows. We found that the bias in the evacuation was slightly in favour of the walkway when train exit was at 0 m in height. Contrary to expectations a moderate dominance of walkway flow was observed at 0.8 m in height. Less variation was found for the train exit at 1.2 m in height with a clear priority of walkway flow. This happened despite deference behaviours performed by participants, i.e. people stopped to help those entering from the rail car. This novel contribution aims to provide a new method for those involved in development and validation of new and current evacuation modelling tools and those who want to improve their understanding of merging behaviour during evacuation in rail tunnels.The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) for funding the SIGNAL project on the frame of the Subprogram RETOS-COLABORACIÓN 2016 call (Ref -RTC-2016-5474-4) as well as the European Union through ERDF funding under the objective of Strengthening Research, Technological Development and Innovatio

Evacuation management system for major disasters

Predicting and understanding mass evacuations are important factors in disaster management and response. Current modelling approaches are useful for planning but lack of real-time capabilities to help informed decisions as the disaster event evolves. To address this challenge, a real-time Evacuation Management System (EMS) is proposed here, following a stochastic approach and combining classical models of low complexity but high reliability. The EMS computes optimal assembly points and shelters and the related network of evacuation routes using GIS-based traffic, pedestrian and routing models including damaged assets or impassable areas. To test the proper operation performances of the EMS, we conducted a case study for the Gran Canaria wildfireThis research and APC was funded by the European Union’s H2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 832576 (ASSISTANCE project)

Intelligent emergency management system for railway transport

Nowadays, a major safety challenge in rail transport is to manage the incidents and emergencies in the most efficient possible way. The current contingency plans tend to be based on static procedures not taking into account how real-time conditions affect them. Consequently, the decision-making process may well suffer delays and the possibility of occurrence for human mistakes could raise since the required measures are expected to be carried out under important pressure. In this study, focused on commuter trains, railway safety is enhanced by a new intelligent emergency management system which aims to support the operator tasks in a realtime incident or emergency situation. This cyber-physical system is composed by two main modules: one on board the train, including sensors and GPS, and other integrated in the control centre addressing four computational models. Those models cover (1) the detection of different types of incidents/emergencies using the information received from on board sensors, (2) the calculation of the evacuation process (if necessary), (3) the selection, estimation of routes and communication with emergency services required for each event, and finally (4) a provision of actions to support the operator decisions. Communication between modules is provided by GPRS due to actual technology available in the pilot trains. This system has been implemented in an actual railway line in Cantabria (Santander-Cabezón de la Sal) and three practical demonstrations were defined based on several use cases, which were tested using a pilot facility incorporating all sensors and devices installed in those trains. Results demonstrated the benefits of the new system.The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) for funding the SIGNAL project on the frame of the Subprogram RETOS-COLABORACIÓN 2016 call (Ref-RTC-2016-5474- 4), as well as the European Union through ERDF funding under the objective of Strengthening Research, Technological Development and Innovation and also to SETELSA company for their partnership, dedication and support for the developing of the project

Real-time evacuation route selection method for complex buildings

This paper proposes a novel real-time decision methodology for the selection of optimal evacuation routes for buildings. A summary of the mathematical formulation, the solution algorithm and the computer model are presented. The optimization algorithm is based on the stochastic evacuation model predictions by considering emergency data such as the location of the hazard. The method is applied to an industrial building. The stochastic evacuation model is compared with the commercial evacuation model STEPS. In addition, the computational model is applied to several emergency scenarios to evaluate its validity.The authors would like to acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for the DEFENDER Project grant, Ref: BIA2016-64866-R, co-financed by ERDS funds

Intelligent emergency management system for railway transport

Trabajo presentado en: R-Evolucionando el transporte, XIV Congreso de Ingeniería del Transporte (CIT 2021), realizado en modalidad online los días 6, 7 y 8 de julio de 2021, organizado por la Universidad de BurgosNowadays, a major safety challenge in rail transport is to manage the incidents and emergencies in the most efficient possible way. The current contingency plans tend to be based on static procedures not taking into account how real-time conditions affect them. Consequently, the decision-making process may well suffer delays and the possibility of occurrence for human mistakes could raise since the required measures are expected to be carried out under important pressure. In this study, focused on commuter trains, railway safety is enhanced by a new intelligent emergency management system which aims to support the operator tasks in a real-time incident or emergency situation. This cyberphysical system is composed by two main modules: one on board the train, including sensors and GPS, and other integrated in the control centre addressing four computational models. Those models cover (1) the detection of different types of incidents/emergencies using the information received from on board sensors, (2) the calculation of the evacuation process (if necessary), (3) the selection, estimation of routes and communication with emergency services required for each event, and finally (4) a provision of actions to support the operator decisions. Communication between modules is provided by GPRS due to actual technology available in the pilot trains. This system has been implemented in an actual railway line in Cantabria (Santander-Cabezón de la Sal) and three practical demonstrations were defined based on several use cases, which were tested using a pilot facility incorporating all sensors and devices installed in those trains. Results demonstrated the benefits of the new system.The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) for funding the SIGNAL project on the frame of the Subprogram RETOSCOLABORACIÓN 2016 call (Ref-RTC-2016-5474-4), as well as the European Union through ERDF funding under the objective of Strengthening Research, Technological Development and Innovation and also to SETELSA company for their partnership, dedication and support for the developing of the project

Evacuation of vessels in dockyards: a model validation study

Evacuation modelling is continuously open to new scenarios and applications. This study examines the possibility to simulate and predict the evacuation of workers aboard vessels in dockyards. First, we provide new data for a better understanding and quantification of workers´ evacuation performance. Second, we use an existing model (STEPS) and apply a validation protocol from the observed evacuation of 150 workers during an unannounced evacuation drill of a Ro-Pax ferry during the repair period in a dry dock. Despite the uncertainty of initial conditions to configure the scenario, the model accurately represents the observed evacuation (e.g. functional analysis ERD=0.08; EPC=1; SC=0.89) suggesting that current agent-based evacuation models, with appropriate inputs and small adaptations, could be applied to these new challenging scenarios. Overall, this study provides evidence for this new application opportunity to model developers, model users and the research community and promotes the use of evacuation modelling for assessing fire safety in shipyards

Alone or with others: experiments on evacuation decision making

A common assumption is that the way occupants respond in fires will be significantly influenced by whether they are alone or with others. However, experimental evidence of this is limited. Here we compare the evacuation decision-making of isolated individuals vs individuals in small-groups of 5 and 12-13 members. Experiments reveal that large groups are significantly more efficient than smaller groups and individuals alone. We also find that social influence is determinant for exit choice behavior in individuals. The results are consistent with recent findings attesting to the positive/negative effects of the social influence during evacuation.The authors would like to thank the European Commission for the LETS-CROWD project received funding from the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the grant agreement Nº 740466 and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for DEFENDER Project Grant, Ref: BIA2015-64866-R, co-funded by ERDS funds. Moreover, authors thank the suggestions, experiences, and comments from LEAs involved in LETS-CROWD project