• Journal of the Regional Association of Architectural Institute of Korea
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.109-116
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• 2019

This study aimed to suggest a quantitative model analyzing overcrowding area under emergency evacuation situation in the outpatient department of hospital. Overall study process included the review on legal conditions of an emergency evacuation, the investigation of precedent research documents and the analysis of spatial configuration. The user movement with considering exit gates and the one without considering exit gates were analyzed for routine activity condition. An agent-based simulation was applied for the analysis. Also, user movement for the emergency condition was tested with evacuation simulation. The variation of simulation conditions revealed the difference between overcrowding spaces from situation change. At all nodes, visit frequencies derived from different conditions and situations were compared. The overcrowding spaces are to increase the risk of delaying emergency evacuation time which is critical for user safety. It suggests the need for dispersing overcrowding spaces under evacuation situation. The suggested analysis model can evaluate overcrowding spaces in the outpatient department of hospital and provide locational data for distributing evacuation design resources.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.61 no.5
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• pp.370-377
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• 2024

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandates that evacuation analysis must be performed at the design stage to ensure the safety of passengers aboard ships. Therefore, ship designers are required to conduct this evacuation analysis during the ship design process. Evacuation analysis begins with creating an escape diagram that outlines the routes from each cabin to the designated assembly stations based on the designed plans. Subsequently, necessary parameters for escape analysis are measured and recorded, and the analysis is conducted using an Excel-based program. This process is manual and time-consuming. Additionally, due to the frequent design changes characteristic of passenger ships, this process must be repeated multiple times. Hence, this study proposes a method to automate this analysis process. The proposed method in this study starts with a preprocessing step to extract key components from 2D drawings. Following this, it distinguishes spaces such as cabins, corridors, and doors within the processed drawings. Using the identified spaces, it then searches for the shortest evacuation routes from each cabin to the assembly station. Based on the identified routes, the method automatically performs the simplified evacuation analysis as prescribed by IMO regulations. Applying the algorithm for automated escape analysis to Ro-Pax vessels demonstrated that the analysis time per ship, which previously took about 15 days, can be reduced to less than 10 minutes.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.41-51
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare variant analysis results regarding overcrowded spaces and suggest a space analysis model for women's hospitals at the outpatient clinic department, central treatment department, and inpatient ward considering evacuation capability of newborns unable to perform automotive evacuation, pregnant patients and maternal patients with limited mobility. Methods: Firstly, precedent studies on women's hospitals and evacuation in hospitals were reviewed. Secondly, the analysis conditions and necessary set values for simulation were designed after analyzing the design documents of the research target hospital. Thirdly, evacuation simulation was conducted by adjusting the variables related to the evacuation behavior of inpatients and newborns. Fourthly, based on the derived results, overcrowded spaces were compared and analyzed according to evacuation behavior. Result: The study results are as follows: (1) It is necessary to check the main escape routes for occupants and to expand and adjust the size of mainly used entrances. (2) It is necessary to widen the stairs' width to alleviate overcrowding caused by patients with non-autonomous walking. (3) Due to overcrowding of the main escape route, it is necessary to identify the bypass route and adjust the width of the corridor. (4) It is necessary to plan an evacuation route for newborns to escape from the main escape route for occupants. Implications: The study result is expected to be used as primary data for research that considers the evacuation behavior of newborns and pregnant women in women's hospitals.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.7-15
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• 2023

Purpose: This study was conducted with the aim of presenting spatial planning directions for evacuation spaces based on an analysis of the performance of horizontal evacuation during the early stages of fire incidents in a geriatric hospital. Methods: Based on a review of previous studies, the research model was designed by establishing occupancy conditions, evacuation, and fire scenarios. The analysis model was developed by considering vulnerable areas in terms of evacuation movement and analyzing the results of evacuation performance. Furthermore, the study analyzed the improvement in evacuation performance by arranging refuge areas. Results: The results of the study are as follows. Firstly, vulnerability spots were identified in terms of evacuation performance by schematizing Required Safe Egress Time, Available Safe Egress Time, and their differences. Secondly, the Required Safe Egress Time in the adjacent public spaces along the escape routes of occupants was found to be higher compared to the Available Safe Egress Time. Thirdly, the results of the correlation analysis between the difference in Available Safe Egress Time and Required Safe Egress Time during the early stages of a fire, as well as their constituent factors, demonstrated that user congestion is a more significant factor in compromising evacuation safety than the physical changes in the fire condition. Fourthly, the analysis of evacuation time was conducted by designating refuge areas where occupants can evacuate within a sufficient timeframe. This led to a decrease in the Required Safe Egress Time. Implications: This study is expected to be used as data on the direction of evacuation space planning to improve the evacuation performance of Geriatric Hospital.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.7-16
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to present an analysis model evaluating evacuation performance considering patient types and procedural evacuation in the medical facility. The user group of the medical facility, including users challenged in evacuation behavior, entails the risk of many casualties. Therefore, it is necessary to plan an evacuation procedure that considers the evacuation characteristics of users. Methods: Through the review of precedent studies, the evacuation procedure of the medical facility, the classification of patient types, and the evacuation procedure was set as conditions and variables for the analysis. The result caused by a variety of conditions and variables were explored. Results: 1) The total evacuation completion time and congestion time were shortened at the procedural evacuation. Moreover, it derived many users from evacuating at the initial phase. 2) The proposed model can provide a basis for proposing a space planning direction that considers the possibility of not carrying out the evacuation plan. 3) It supports safe evacuation by identifying variables that reduce overcrowding by comparing the congestion time of overcrowded spaces. 4) The analysis model can identify the overcrowded space through the evacuation route and suggest the basis for architectural improvements that reduce overcrowding. Implications: The study results can be used to analyze the performance of evacuation procedures and support the establishment of evacuation procedures and building plans for safe evacuation for medical facilities.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.1-6
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• 2000

With the "Fire Protection Building Plan" of the Building Center of Japan as a sample, actual evacuation plans used for large scaled and multi-storied buildings are analyzed. Sufficient number of samples were classified into 6 categories. For room evacuation, time to pass through the exit was the most critical point for larger spaces and movement time in the room was the key for smaller evacuation object zone and less number of evacuees. Seen from the location of fire breakout point, it was witnessed that the numbers of crowding at the exits of the fire escape staircase are serious for floor level evacuation. For vertical traffic line, it was actually proved that time to fire escaping floor is problem of higher buildings. It was also proved that special evacuation methods are in practical use in many buildings in japan.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.409-415
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• 2018

Recently, many countries around the world began to show interest in safety against terrorism, fire, and natural disasters. This study aimed to propose a quantitative measurement system for emergency evacuation and safety for various kinds of terrorism and fire within high-rise multi-purpose facilities, which can measure the pedestrians' ordinary walking patterns in the concourse with the highest pedestrian volume out of all the spaces within multi-story buildings, predict pedestrians' evacuation walking lines when a sudden disaster breaks out, and analyze the gait coefficient, occupant density, and evacuation behavior time.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.21-26
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• 2007

The computer program is developed to simulate the evacauation time for a building which is made geometrically complex. The program is intended for use both as a search and a design tool to analyze the evacuation safety through a wide range of structure environments. The computer program has a function of importing FDS's result to each individual resident in the building. These attributes include a walking speed reduction by producing visibility reduction for each person on the fire. $A^*$ pathfinding algorithm is adopted to calculate the simulation of escape movement, overtaking, route deviation, and adjustments to individual speeds due to the proximity of crowd members. Finally, a case study for a theater is presented to compared the calculated evacuation time with SIMULEX in detail. This program contribute to a computer program that evaluates the evacuation time of individual occupants as they walk towards, and through the exits especially for building, underground spaces like a subway or tunnel.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.228-234
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• 2016

Recent buildings are complicated and tends to be connected each other and even underground spaces. Although the risk of disaster is increasing, it does not provide training or induction refuge. In this paper, we propose evacuation induction system using directional speaker, for providing persons in danger with useful information on the disaster situation and to evacuate people effectively as an accurate and rapid evacuation guidance.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.63-74
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present an evacuation performance analysis model that can derive vulnerable evacuation spaces with considering the movement behavior as per the elderly groups in the event of a fire in a geriatric hospital. Methods: The evacuation characteristics of geriatric hospital users were investigated through the review of precedent studies. First, the occupant conditions and the evacuation scenario were set to analyze a study target hospital. Then, the evacuation simulation was carried out considering the group types and the density of each group. Finally, an evacuation performance analysis model according to the group type was presented based on the simulation results. Results: The results of this study are as follows: (1) The evacuation performance according to the group type is to be clarified through the suggested study model. (2) It is necessary to secure a ramp or an emergency elevator to distribute the evacuation personnel at the design stage because congestion occurs due to collisions between evacuees on the stairs and delays the evacuation time. (3) It is necessary to consider the evacuation stairs and openings of sufficient size by analyzing the frequency of congestion occurrence and the escape routes of occupants in advance to identify the space where the evacuation flow overlaps. Implications: It is expected that the study result is to be used as primary data for studies that consider the elderly and clustering evacuation behavior in the event of a fire in a geriatric hospital.