Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nmvwc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-26T01:47:40.656Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The numerical simulation of aircraft evacuation and its application to aircraft design and certification

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

M. Owen ,
E. R. Galea ,
P. J. Lawrence  and
L. Filippidis
M. Owen
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering GroupUniversity of GreenwichLondon, UK
E. R. Galea
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering GroupUniversity of GreenwichLondon, UK
P. J. Lawrence
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering GroupUniversity of GreenwichLondon, UK
L. Filippidis
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering GroupUniversity of GreenwichLondon, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Computer based mathematical models describing the aircraft evacuation process have a vital role to play in the design and development of safer aircraft, the implementation of safer and more rigorous certification criteria, in cabin crew training and post-mortem accident investigation. As the risk of personal injury and the costs involved in performing large-scale evacuation experiments for the next generation ultra high capacity aircraft (UHCA) are expected to be high, the development and use of these evacuation modelling tools may become essential if these aircraft are to prove a viable reality. This paper describes the capabilities and limitations of the airEXODUS evacuation model and some attempts at validation, including its successful application to the prediction of a recent certification trial, prior to the actual trial taking place. Also described is a newly defined performance parameter known as OPS that can be used as a measure of evacuation trial optimality. In addition, sample evacuation simulations in the presence of fire atmospheres are described.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 102 , Issue 1016 , July 1998 , pp. 301 - 312
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1998 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. OTA Aircraft Evacuation Testing: Research and Technology Issues. Background Paper, Technical Report OTA-BP-SET-121, Office of Technology Assessment Congress of the United States, 1993.Google Scholar
2. King, D. Report on the accident to Boeing 737-236 Series 1, G-BGJL at Manchester International Airport on 22 August 1985. Aircraft Accident Report 8/88. HMSO, London, 1988.Google Scholar
3. Snow, C.C., Carroll, J.J. and Allgood, M.A. Survival in emergency escape from passenger aircraft, Technical Report AM 70-16, FA A Office of Aviation Medicine, Dept of Transport, USA, 1970.Google Scholar
4. Galea, E.R. and Galparsoro, J.M.P. EXODUS: An Evacuation Model for Mass Transport Vehicles, Technical Report, UK CAA Paper 93006, ISBN 086039 543X, 1993.Google Scholar
5. Galea, E.R. and Galparsoro, J.M.P. A computer based simulation model for the prediction of evacuation from mass transport vehicles, Fire Safety J, 1994, 22, pp 341–366.Google Scholar
6. Galea, E.R., Owen, M. and Lawrence, P. Computer modelling of human behaviour in aircraft fire accidents, Toxicology, 1996, 115, (1-3), pp 63–78.Google Scholar
7. Galea, E.R., Owen, M. and Lawrence, P. The role of evacuation modelling in the development of safer air travel, AGARD-CP-587, Proceedings of AGARD PEP 88th Meeting on Aircraft Fire Safety, Dresden, 14-18 October 1996, 36-1-36-13, 1997.Google Scholar
8. Owen, M., Galea, E.R. and Lawrence, P. The EXODUS evacuation model applied to building evacuation scenarios, J Fire Protection Engineering, 8, (2), pp 65–86, 1996.Google Scholar
9. Galea, E.R. and Hoffmann, N.A. Using mathematical models to predict the development of aircraft cabin fires, AGARD-CP-587, Proceedings of The AGARD PEP 88th Meeting on Aircraft Fire Safety, Dresden, 14-18 October 1996, 7-1-7-12, 1997.Google Scholar
10. Purser, D.A. Toxicity assessment of combustion products, SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy MA, Beyler, C.L. (Ed), 1988, 1-20-1-245.Google Scholar
11. Speitel, L. Fractional effective dose model for post-crash aircraft survivability. Toxicology, 1996, 115, (1-3), pp 167–177.Google Scholar
12. Jin, T. and Yamada, T. Experimental study of human behaviour in smoke filled corridors. Proceedings of The Second International Symposium on Fire Safety Science, 1988, pp 511–519.Google Scholar
13. Muir, H. and Cobbet, A. Influence of Cabin Crew During Emergency Evacuations at Floor Level Exits, Technical Report, CAA Paper 95006, Part A, 1996, ISBN 0 86039 649 5.Google Scholar
14. Muir, H. and Cobbet, A. Influence of Cabin Crew During Emergency Evacuations at Floor Level Exits, Technical Report, CAA Paper 95006, Part B , 1996, ISBN 0 86039 649 5.Google Scholar
15. Owen, M., Dixon, A. and Galea, E.R. 90 Second Trial Data Archive Report. In preparation, 1997.Google Scholar
16. McLean, G.A. and George, M.H. Individual Difference in Efficiency of Emergency Egress from Type-III Overwing Exits, Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, 1994, 64, (5), p 468.Google Scholar
17. Gwynne, S., Galea, E.R., Owen, M. and Lawrence, P.J. Escape as a Social Response, CMS Press (London) Paper 97/IM/26, ISBN 1899991263, August 1997.Google Scholar
18. Owen, M., Galea, E.R., Lawrence, P.J. and Fillipidis, L. AASK — Aircraft Accidents Statistics and Knowledge: A Database of Human Experience in Evacuation, derived from Aviation Accident Reports. In preparation, 1998.Google Scholar
19. Marcus, J.H. A review of computer evacuation models and their data needs, Proceedings of The 11th Annual International Aircraft Cabin Safety Symposium and Technical Conference, 1994, pp 282–300, SCSI.Google Scholar
20. Muir, H., Marrison, C. and Evans, A. Aircraft evacuations: the effect of passenger motivation and cabin configuration adjacent to the exit. Technical Report, CAA Paper 89019, 1989, ISBN 0 86039 406 9.Google Scholar
21. Galea, E.R. and Owen, M. Initial Analysis of B767 and B757 Certification Trial Data, Confidential Report for the UK CAA , 1996.Google Scholar
22. Galea, E.R. and Owen, M. Initial EXODUS Model Predictions for Certification Evacuation Scenarios of the B767-200 and B767-346 Aircraft, Confidential Report for the UK CAA, 1996.Google Scholar
23. Galea, E.R. and Owen, M. Initial EXODUS Model Predictions for Certification evacuation Scenarios of the B767-304ER Aircraft, Confidential Report for the UK CAA , 1996.Google Scholar
24. Blethrow, J.G., Garner, J.D., Lowrey, D.L., Busby, D.E. and Chandler, R.F. Emergency Escape of Handicapped Air Travellers, FAA-AM-77-11, 1977.Google Scholar