Dynamic feature analysis in bidirectional pedestrian flows

Analysis of dynamic features of pedestrian flows is one of the most exciting topics in pedestrian dynamics. This paper focuses on the effect of homogeneity and heterogeneity in three parameters of the social force model, namely desired velocity, reaction time, and body size, on the moving dynamics of bidirectional pedestrian flows in the corridors. The speed and its deviation in free flows are investigated. Simulation results show that the homogeneous higher desired speed which is less than a critical threshold, shorter reaction time or smaller body size results in higher speed of flows. The free dynamics is more sensitive to the heterogeneity in desired speed than that in reaction time or in body size. In particular, an inner lane formation is observed in normal lanes. Furthermore, the breakdown probability and the start time of breakdown are focused on. This study reveals that the sizes of homogeneous desired speed, reaction time or body size play more important roles in affecting the breakdown than the heterogeneities in these three parameters do. (paper)