Choi, Jun-Ho, Galea, Edwin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0001-6665 and Hong, Won-Hwa (2013) Individual stair ascent and descent walk speeds measured in a Korean high-rise building. Journal of Fire Protection Engineering (00). pp. 1-29. ISSN 1042-3915 (Print), 1532-172X (Online) (doi:10.1177/1042391513492738)

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze individual unimpeded stair ascent and descent walk speeds for the Korean population. To collect these data, a full-scale experiment was conducted in a 50-storey residential building in Korea involving 30 male and 30 female participants with an average age of 23.4 years. Each participant was required to ascend 50 floors and after a suitable rest period was then required to descend 50 floors using the stairs. Arrival times on each floor were recorded using video cameras, allowing floor by floor walk speeds to be determined and to assess whether fatigue affected the descent/ascent. The average descent speed for the male and female population was 0.83 m/s and 0.74 m/s, respectively, while the average ascent speed was 0.66 m/s and 0.48 m/s. However, there was no significant relationship between body mass index and stair walk speed or unimpeded horizontal walk speed and stair walk speed. During the descent, 50% of the population displayed a decrease in the walk speed over the final half of the descent with a maximum decrease of some 19%. However, some 50% of the population increased their travel speed during the final half of the descent. During the ascent, all participants decreased their speed over the first 20 floors by an average of approximately 60%. Implications of these findings for evacuation modeling/simulation are discussed.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	The Journal of Fire Protection Engineering was published in association with the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	evacuation, stair, walk speed, body mass index, fatigue, high-rise building
Subjects:	Q Science > Q Science (General)
Pre-2014 Departments:	School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for Numerical Modelling & Process Analysis School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for Numerical Modelling & Process Analysis > Fire Safety Engineering Group
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2017 15:10
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/10826

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