Balancing efficiency and safety in classroom evacuation: An enhanced social force model integrating panic, obstacles, and multi-exit dynamics

Abstract

This study aims to enhance evacuation efficiency and occupant safety during classroom emergencies. An improved social force model was developed, incorporating dynamic panic evolution, pedestrian interactions with obstacles, and strategies for utilizing multiple exits to more accurately capture complex evacuation behaviors. Simulation experiments systematically varied desired speeds, panic coefficients, and spatial layouts to evaluate their impacts on evacuation time, injury probability, and flow stability. The findings indicate that moderate speeds (around 3 m/s) minimize both evacuation time and injuries, while excessive speeds combined with high panic levels lead to congestion, unstable flows, and an increased risk of injuries, exemplifying the "faster-is-slower" phenomenon. Furthermore, simply adding exits without considering behavioral dynamics does not guarantee improved evacuation performance. The study concludes that successful evacuations require the coordinated management of movement behaviors and strategic spatial design. Practical implications include providing a decision-support tool for school administrators and safety engineers to optimize classroom layouts, conduct more realistic evacuation drills, and implement behavior-informed emergency response plans that enhance disaster resilience in high-density educational environments.