Pedestrian flow characteristics through different angled bends: Exploring the spatial variation of velocity

Hannun, Jamal; Dias, Charitha; Taha, Alaa Hasan; Almutairi, Abdulaziz; Alhajyaseen, Wael; Sarvi, Majid; Al-Bosta, Salim · 2022 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264635

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This study investigates the spatial variation of pedestrian velocity and density as crowds navigate bends of different angles, aiming to identify specific bottleneck locations within complex geometrical settings. Motivated by the severe safety risks associated with crowd congestion and stampedes in public infrastructure, the research seeks to provide detailed empirical data to calibrate microscopic pedestrian simulation tools. While previous studies often treated bottlenecks as single units, this work focuses on quantifying how turning angles and desired speeds affect flow characteristics locally, particularly near the inner and outer corners of bends. The researchers conducted controlled laboratory experiments at Monash University involving 55 participants (students and staff) who navigated unidirectional corridors with a constant width of 1.5 meters. The experimental design included five geometrical configurations: a straight corridor (0°) and bends with turning angles of 45°, 90°, 135°, and 180°. Two speed conditions were tested: normal walking (average speed ~1.07 m/s) and slow running or jogging (average speed ~2.14 m/s). Trajectory data were extracted manually from video recordings at 0.12-second intervals and converted to ground coordinates. Using MATLAB, the authors generated heat maps for speed and density, dividing the corridor into inner, middle, and outer lanes to analyze spatial distributions. Statistical analyses, including t-tests and ANOVA, were performed to compare speeds across different angles and lane positions. The results demonstrate that pedestrian speeds are significantly non-uniform within bends, with average walking speeds being notably lower near the inner corner compared to the outer corner. This speed variation intensifies as both the turning angle and the desired speed increase. Density distributions revealed that congestion peaks near the bends, reaching up to 3 pedestrians per square meter, with higher densities observed at larger turning angles. While straight corridors showed consistent density, angled corridors exhibited sudden density increases at the bend, particularly during jogging conditions, due to abrupt speed drops. The study found that even smaller angles, such as 45°, can create bottlenecks near the inner corner, especially when pedestrians move at higher speeds. The findings highlight that higher turning angles and increased desired speeds significantly elevate the risk of local congestion and potential stampedes. By identifying the inner corner as a critical pinch point where speed reductions and density spikes occur, the study provides essential insights for designing safer public spaces and optimizing crowd management strategies. These empirical results offer valuable data for validating and calibrating microscopic simulation models, enabling more accurate predictions of crowd behavior in complex geometrical environments.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• pedestrian behavior perception