Modeling of Macroscopic Building Evacuation Using IFC Data

Abstract

Abstract:Presently, most models of crowd evacuations within a building are created manually. This is inefficient. To address this issue, this paper focuses on the differences and relationship between industry foundation classes (IFC) and the macroscopic network model for evacuation (MNME), and studies the mapping and construction methods used to convert entity objects into nodes and arcs in the MNME. Furthermore, corresponding attribute information in the MNME are established from IFC. Based on this process, the MNME is created and used as an input to EVACNET4 to obtain simulation results. Finally, the results, together with a 3D building model, are expressed in a unified environment. Our study results show that a network as well as the relevant attributes can be automatically generated from IFC, and can be adapted to different working conditions. The method proposed in this paper can automatically map the semantic information model to the MNME and the simulation result as well as the building model can be integrated in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment.

Constraints for Improving Information Integrity in Information Conversion From CAD Building Drawings to BIM Model

“…As a typical 3D model of buildings, support for analysis is a basic function of IFC. Among the mainstream analysis models, the network model is a typical abstraction of the building model [30], [32], [33], which is the basis for many applications such as navigation, evacuation, and airflow simulation inside the building. As an evaluation of the constraints described above, in this discussion we use the analysis of macroscopic network model for evacuation (MNME) [34] to examine if the constraints allow the building information in CAD drawings correctly converted to IFC.…”

“…As an evaluation of the constraints described above, in this discussion we use the analysis of macroscopic network model for evacuation (MNME) [34] to examine if the constraints allow the building information in CAD drawings correctly converted to IFC. According to the method described by [30], the core of the MNME is the network structure and the associated attributes attached to the network. Therefore, the nodes, arcs, and their associated attributes contained in the network structure are the key for the analysis.…”

“…9). For spatial adjacency and spatial connection, although there are not relevant relationships defined in IFC, it can actually be derived through other relationships in IFC [30].…”

“…For another example, in evacuation analysis, the passing ability of the door and window is a parameter that needs to be considered frequently. This parameter is determined by the effective width of the door and window [30]. As shown in Fig.…”

“…In addition to the network structure itself, the attributes attached to the nodes and arcs are also an important part of the MNME. Attributes such as the area of the nodes, the passing force and the passing time of the arcs all significantly impact the evacuation results [30]. For example, stairs are passages for connecting stories and are important in evacuation networks.…”