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Examining the effect of exit separation on aircraft evacuation performance during 90-second certification trials using evacuation modelling techniques

Examining the effect of exit separation on aircraft evacuation performance during 90-second certification trials using evacuation modelling techniques

Blake, S.J., Galea, E.R. ORCID: 0000-0002-0001-6665 , Gwynne, S., Lawrence, P.J. ORCID: 0000-0002-0269-0231 and Filippidis, L. ORCID: 0000-0002-1852-0042 (2002) Examining the effect of exit separation on aircraft evacuation performance during 90-second certification trials using evacuation modelling techniques. The Aeronautical Journal, 106 (1055). pp. 1-16. ISSN 0001-9240

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Abstract

This paper examines the influence of exit separation, exit availability and seating configuration on aircraft evacuation efficiency and evacuation time. The purpose of this analysis is to explore how these parameters influence the 60-foot exit separation requirement found in aircraft certification rules. The analysis makes use of the airEXODUS evacuation model and is based on a typical wide-body aircraft cabin section involving two pairs of Type-A exits located at either end of the section with a maximum permissible loading of 220 passengers located between the exits. The analysis reveals that there is a complex relationship between exit separation and evacuation efficiency. A main finding of this work is that for the cabin section examined, with a maximum passenger load of 220 and under certification conditions, exit separations up to 170ft will result in approximately constant total evacuation times and average personal evacuation times. This practical exit separation threshold is decreased to 114ft if another combination of exits is selected. While other factors must also be considered when determining maximum allowable exit separations, these results suggest it is not possible to mandate a maximum exit separation without taking into consideration exit type, exit availability and aircraft configuration.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: [1] CMS Ref. No: 02/1.
Uncontrolled Keywords: accident prevention, aircraft escape devices, deck landing aircraft, laws and legislation, performance, registration of engineers, regulatory compliance, standards, structural design, wings, aircraft design, aircraft evacuation, passenger loads, safety standards, aircraft emergency exits
Subjects: Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Computer software
T Technology > TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics
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
School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences > Department of Computer Science
School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences > Department of Mathematical Sciences
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Last Modified: 18 Feb 2020 16:20
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/507

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