Constant evacuation time gap:Experimental study and modeling

In this paper, the evacuation dynamics in an artificial room with only one exit is investigated via experiments and modeling. Two sets of experiments are implemented, in which pedestrians are asked to escape individually. It is found that the average evacuation time gap is essentially constant. To model the evacuation dynamics, an improved social force model is proposed, in which it is assumed that the driving force of a pedestrian cannot be performed when the resultant physical force exceeds a threshold. Simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental ones.