This SpringerBrief focuses on the use of egress models to assess the optimal strategy for total evacuation in high-rise buildings. It investigates occupant relocation and evacuation strategies involving the exit stairs, elevators, sky bridges and combinations thereof. Chapters review existing information on this topic and describe case study simulations of a multi-component exit strategy. This review provides the architectural design, regulatory and research communities with a thorough understanding of the current and emerging evacuation procedures and possible future options. A model case study simulates seven possible strategies for the total evacuation of two identical twin towers linked with two sky-bridges at different heights. The authors present the layout of the building and the available egress components including both vertical and horizontal egress components, namely stairs, occupant evacuation elevators (OEEs), service elevators, transfer floors and sky-bridges. The evacuation strategies employ a continuous spatial representation evacuation model (Pathfinder) and are cross-validated by a fine network model (STEPS). Assessment of Total Evacuation Systems for Tall Buildings is intended for practitioners as a tool for analyzing evacuation methods and efficient exit strategies. Researchers working in architecture and fire safety will also find the book valuable.

This book presents an overview of modeling definitions and concepts, theory on human behavior and human performance data, available tools and simulation approaches, model development, and application and validation methods. It considers the data and research efforts needed to develop and incorporate functions for the different parameters into comprehensive escape and evacuation simulations, with a number of examples illustrating different aspects and approaches. After an overview of basic modeling approaches, the book discusses benefits and challenges of current techniques. The representation of evacuees is a central issue, including human behavior and the proper implementation of representational tools. Key topics include the nature and importance of the different parameters involved in ASET and RSET and the interactions between them. A review of the current literature on verification and validation methods is provided, with a set of recommended verification tests and examples of validation tests. The book concludes with future challenges: new scenarios and factors for future model developments, addresses the problem of using deterministic and/or stochastic approaches and proposes, and discusses the use of evacuation models for supporting timely decisions in real-time. Written by international experts, Evacuation Modeling Trends is designed for those involved in safety, from emergency and intervention personnel to students, engineers and researchers.

The architect's primary source for information on designing for egress, evacuation, and life safety, Egress Design Solutions, Emergency Evacuation and Crowd Management Planning, is written by proven experts on egress issues. Meacham and Tubbs are engineers with Arup, an international firm with a stellar reputation for quality design and engineering. Their book examines egress solutions in terms of both prescriptive and performance-based code issues. A portion of the book focuses on techniques for providing egress design solutions and for coordinating egress systems with other critical life safety systems. Another part reviews historic and recent tragic life-loss fire events. As such, this is easily the most comprehensive take on the subject, written especially for architects.

I was invited to join the Organizing Committee of the First International Conference on Complex Sciences: Theory and Applications (Complex 2009) as its ninth member. At that moment, eight distinguished colleagues, General Co-chairs Eugene Stanley and Gaoxi Xiao, Technical Co-chairs J·nos Kertész and Bing-Hong Wang, Local Co-chairs Hengshan Wang and Hong-An Che, Publicity Team Shi Xiao and Yubo Wang, had spent hundreds of hours pushing the conference half way to its birth. Ever since then, I have been amazed to see hundreds of papers flooding in, reviewed and commented on by the TPC members. Finally, more than 200 contributions were - lected for the proceedings currently in your hands. They include about 200 papers from the main conference (selected from more than 320 submissions) and about 33 papers from the five collated workshops: Complexity Theory of Art and Music (COART) Causality in Complex Systems (ComplexCCS) Complex Engineering Networks (ComplexEN) Modeling and Analysis of Human Dynamics (MANDYN) Social Physics and its Applications (SPA) Complex sciences are expanding their colonies at such a dazzling speed that it - comes literally impossible for any conference to cover all the frontiers.

Geo-information technology can be of considerable use in disaster management, but with considerable challenge in integrating systems, interoperability and reliability. This book provides a broad overview of geo-information technology, software, systems needed, currently used and to be developed for disaster management. The text invites discussion on systems and requirements for use of geo-information under time and stress constraints and unfamiliar situations, environments and circumstances.