An experimental study on how phosphorescent guidance equipment influences on evacuation in impaired visibility

The use of the phosphorescent guidance sign is increasing. To evaluate the changes of human behavior when a phosphorescent guidance sign was installed on the floor, the evacuation experiment was carried out. The main evacuation experiment was conducted in impaired visibility conditions at the subway station with 103 subjects. Characteristic features of changes regarding evacuation time, moving speed and evacuation route were mainly discussed in this paper. In addition, the changes of evacuation were evaluated by using the estimated velocity and relative order index. This study also introduced the method to simulate impaired visibility caused by smoke when an evacuation experiment was carried out. The results showed that the phosphorescent guidance sign facilitated evacuation due to a decrease in the evacuation route. The moving speed increased only when the phosphorescent sign was installed at intervals smaller than a person's step.