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The numerical simulation of aircraft evacuation and its application to aircraft design and certification

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

M. Owen ,
E. R. Galea ,
P. J. Lawrence  and
L. Filippidis
M. Owen
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering GroupUniversity of GreenwichLondon, UK
E. R. Galea
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering GroupUniversity of GreenwichLondon, UK
P. J. Lawrence
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering GroupUniversity of GreenwichLondon, UK
L. Filippidis
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering GroupUniversity of GreenwichLondon, UK
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Abstract

Computer based mathematical models describing the aircraft evacuation process have a vital role to play in the design and development of safer aircraft, the implementation of safer and more rigorous certification criteria, in cabin crew training and post-mortem accident investigation. As the risk of personal injury and the costs involved in performing large-scale evacuation experiments for the next generation ultra high capacity aircraft (UHCA) are expected to be high, the development and use of these evacuation modelling tools may become essential if these aircraft are to prove a viable reality. This paper describes the capabilities and limitations of the airEXODUS evacuation model and some attempts at validation, including its successful application to the prediction of a recent certification trial, prior to the actual trial taking place. Also described is a newly defined performance parameter known as OPS that can be used as a measure of evacuation trial optimality. In addition, sample evacuation simulations in the presence of fire atmospheres are described.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 102 , Issue 1016 , July 1998 , pp. 301 - 312
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1998 

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