Pathfinder 2009 Example Guide

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Brea, CA 92821-6315
Example Guide
Pathfinder 2009
Example Guide
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1
SFPE and Steering Modes ........................................................................................ 1
2. Room with Hallway ..................................................................................................... 2
Create Geometry ...................................................................................................... 2
Add Exit Door ........................................................................................................ 3
Add Occupants ........................................................................................................ 3
Run SFPE Simulation .............................................................................................. 4
Run the Simulation Using Steering ........................................................................... 5
3. Stairwell Example ........................................................................................................ 7
Create Floor Geometry ............................................................................................ 7
Add Stairwells ......................................................................................................... 8
Add Doors ............................................................................................................. 10
Add Occupants ...................................................................................................... 11
Run the Simulation ................................................................................................ 12
Run SFPE Simulation ............................................................................................ 13
4. Sketching on Background Image Example ................................................................... 15
Import Background Image ...................................................................................... 15
Sketch the Rooms .................................................................................................. 16
Add Doors ............................................................................................................. 20
Add Occupants ...................................................................................................... 21
Run Steering Simulation ........................................................................................ 22
5. Extracting Rooms from a 2D DXF ............................................................................. 24
Import DXF File .................................................................................................... 24
Prepare the DXF Data for Room Extraction ............................................................ 24
Extract the Rooms ................................................................................................. 26
Add Doors ............................................................................................................. 27
Add Occupants ...................................................................................................... 29
Run the Simulation ................................................................................................ 29
Simulation Results ................................................................................................. 29
6. Working with Imported 3D Data (PyroSim, FDS, and 3D DXF) ................................... 31
Import FDS File .................................................................................................... 31
Configure the Floors .............................................................................................. 31
Extract the Rooms ................................................................................................. 32
Add Doors ............................................................................................................. 33
Add Stairs ............................................................................................................. 35
7. SFPE Example 1 ....................................................................................................... 37
Create Geometry .................................................................................................... 37
Add Occupants ...................................................................................................... 40
Select SFPE Mode ................................................................................................. 41
Run Simulation ...................................................................................................... 42
View Results ......................................................................................................... 42
Compare Results to SFPE Calculation .................................................................... 43
Re-Run the SFPE Mode Simulation with Equal Door Loads ..................................... 45
Run Using Steering Movement Mode ..................................................................... 46
Adding Collision Avoidance to the SFPE Mode ...................................................... 47
8. SFPE Example 2 ....................................................................................................... 49
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Create Problem Geometry ...................................................................................... 50
Select Behaviors .................................................................................................... 55
Run Simulation ...................................................................................................... 56
View Results ......................................................................................................... 56
Compare Results to SFPE Calculation .................................................................... 57
Re-Run the Simulation Using Collision Avoidance .................................................. 59
Re-Run the Simulation Using Steering Behavior ...................................................... 59
9. IMO Test 1, Maintaining set walking speed in corridor ................................................ 61
Create Problem Geometry in Pathfinder ................................................................. 61
Add a Door ........................................................................................................... 61
Add an Occupant ................................................................................................... 62
Select Simulation Parameters .................................................................................. 62
Run Simulation ...................................................................................................... 63
View Results ......................................................................................................... 63
Summary Data ..................................................................................................... 64
10. IMO Test 6, Rounding Corners ................................................................................. 65
Create problem geometry in PathFinder .................................................................. 65
Add an Exit Door .................................................................................................. 67
Add the Occupants ................................................................................................ 67
SFPE Simulation .................................................................................................... 68
View SFPE Results ................................................................................................ 69
Compare SFPE Calculation with Expected Result .................................................... 69
Steering Simulation ................................................................................................ 70
View Steering Results ............................................................................................ 70
Compare Steering Calculation with Expected Result ................................................ 72
Summary of Calculated Exit Times ........................................................................ 72
11. Counterflow in Two Rooms Connected via a Corridor ................................................ 73
Create Problem Geometry in Pathfinder .................................................................. 73
Add Doors to the Corridor and Exits ...................................................................... 74
Add Occupants ...................................................................................................... 75
Run SFPE Simulation with Counterflow ................................................................. 77
Run Steering Simulation with Counterflow .............................................................. 78
12. IMO Test 9, Room with Four Exits ........................................................................... 80
Create Problem Geometry in Pathfinder .................................................................. 80
Add Exit Doors ..................................................................................................... 81
Add the Occupants ................................................................................................ 82
Run SFPE Simulation with Collision Avoidance ...................................................... 84
Add Additional Doors ............................................................................................ 86
Run SFPE Analysis with Four Exits and Collision Behavior ..................................... 86
13. IMO Test 10, Exit Route Allocation .......................................................................... 88
Create Geometry .................................................................................................... 88
Add Occupants and Assign to Exits ........................................................................ 91
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Example Guide
14. IMO Test 11, Staircase .............................................................................................
Create Geometry ....................................................................................................
Create Stairs ..........................................................................................................
Create Population ...................................................................................................
Run SFPE Simulation and View Results .................................................................
Run SFPE Simulation with Collision Handling ........................................................
Run Simulation using Steering Mode ......................................................................
References ....................................................................................................................
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List of Figures
2.1. Model dimensions ..................................................................................................... 2
2.2. Room with a hallway ................................................................................................ 3
2.3. Completed geometry ................................................................................................. 3
2.4. Placing the occupants in the room ............................................................................. 4
2.5. The results for SFPE mode ........................................................................................ 5
2.6. The results for SFPE mode ........................................................................................ 6
3.1. Geometry of Ground Floor ........................................................................................ 7
3.2. Basic Geometry of All Floors .................................................................................... 8
3.3. Adding the stairs in the top view ............................................................................... 9
3.4. First Flight of Stairs .................................................................................................. 9
3.5. Completed Flight of Stairs ....................................................................................... 10
3.6. Doors added to the model ........................................................................................ 11
3.7. Completed Model .................................................................................................... 12
3.8. simulation results for Steering mode ........................................................................ 13
3.9. The results for SFPE mode ...................................................................................... 14
4.1. Image of the office geometry ................................................................................... 15
4.2. Define the Anchor Point on the background image .................................................... 16
4.3. Define points A and B ............................................................................................ 16
4.4. Sketch of first office ............................................................................................... 17
4.5. Sketch of second office ........................................................................................... 18
4.6. Preparing to copy second office ............................................................................... 18
4.7. After making copies of the second office .................................................................. 19
4.8. After making copies of the second office .................................................................. 19
4.9. Merging separate sketches to make one room ........................................................... 20
4.10. After all rooms have been defined. Note that some offices are separated by doors,
so those rooms are not connected to the main walking space. ........................................... 20
4.11. Adding a door to the model ................................................................................... 21
4.12. Adding a door to the model ................................................................................... 21
4.13. Adding individual occupants to the model .............................................................. 22
4.14. Adding occupants by room .................................................................................... 22
4.15. The results during evacuation. They do dress nice at Fog Creek, don't they. ............... 23
5.1. DXF of the Thunderhead Engineering office ............................................................. 24
5.2. An imported 2D DXF with too much information ..................................................... 25
5.3. Trimmed 2D DXF Data ........................................................................................... 25
5.4. Rooms extracted from a 2D DXF ............................................................................. 26
5.5. Disconnecting the outer gap from a room-extracted 2D DXF ..................................... 27
5.6. Extracted office with the outer gap removed ............................................................. 27
5.7. A 2D DXF with extracted rooms and internal doors .................................................. 28
5.8. The final model for 2D DXF room extraction ........................................................... 29
5.9. 3D Simulation Results ............................................................................................. 30
6.1. thouse4.data FDS file .............................................................................................. 31
6.2. Rooms extracted from an FDS File .......................................................................... 33
6.3. Separating a room from another ............................................................................... 34
6.4. The top floor of thouse4 with doors ......................................................................... 34
6.5. The bottom floor of the town house with an exit door ................................................ 35
6.6. The bottom edge of the stairway .............................................................................. 36
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Example Guide
6.7. Completed townhouse model. ..................................................................................
7.1. Sketch of the model ................................................................................................
7.2. Drawing the room ...................................................................................................
7.3. Drawing the landing ................................................................................................
7.4. Adding the stairs .....................................................................................................
7.5. Adding the exit door ...............................................................................................
7.6. Completed model with occupants after rotation .........................................................
7.7. Simulation summary data given on the run dialog (saved in summary.txt) ...................
7.8. Animated display of movement ................................................................................
7.9. SFPE Example 1 Solution .......................................................................................
7.10. SFPE Example 1 Simulation ..................................................................................
7.11. Solution for symmetric model ................................................................................
7.12. Occupant motion using steering movement .............................................................
7.13. Occupant motion using SFPE movement with collision avoidance ............................
8.1. Sketch of the model ................................................................................................
8.2. The PathFinder model .............................................................................................
8.3. The floors in the model ...........................................................................................
8.4. The floors and landings in the model .......................................................................
8.5. Imported FDS File ..................................................................................................
8.6. Extracted Floors with FDS Geometry hidden ............................................................
8.7. The right exit door on the bottom floor ....................................................................
8.8. PathFinder model ....................................................................................................
8.9. Display of results for SFPE mode. Note that occupants can overlap in space. ...............
8.10. Display of floor occupancy results for SFPE mode. .................................................
8.11. SFPE Example 2 Solution ......................................................................................
8.12. Display of movement for Steering mode .................................................................
8.13. Display of floor occupancy results for Steering mode. .............................................
9.1. The Top View in Pathfinder, showing the room ........................................................
9.2. The 1 m exit door placed in the right side of the corridor ...........................................
9.3. An occupant positioned at the left end of the corridor ................................................
9.4. The 3D results view ................................................................................................
10.1. PyroSim model of the corridor ...............................................................................
10.2. The first part of the corridor ..................................................................................
10.3. The second part of the corridor ..............................................................................
10.4. The exit door ........................................................................................................
10.5. The occupants in the corridor .................................................................................
10.6. Using animation to display the results ....................................................................
10.7. View of steering results .........................................................................................
10.8. View of results as people .......................................................................................
11.1. The connected room geometry ...............................................................................
11.2. The two rooms connected by a corridor ..................................................................
11.3. After drawing the doors .........................................................................................
11.4. Placing the occupants in the room ..........................................................................
11.5. The results when using people ...............................................................................
11.6. Room 2 occupants .................................................................................................
12.1. The room with exit doors ......................................................................................
12.2. Drawing the room .................................................................................................
12.3. After drawing the doors .........................................................................................
12.4. Placing the occupants in the room ..........................................................................
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12.5. The results for SFPE mode with 2 exit doors ..........................................................
12.6. The results for SFPE behavior with 2 exit doors ......................................................
12.7. The results for steering behavior with 2 exit doors ...................................................
12.8. The results for steering behavior with 2 exit doors ...................................................
13.1. The room with exit doors ......................................................................................
13.2. First Six Cabins ....................................................................................................
13.3. Cabins with Hallway Added ..................................................................................
13.5. All Cabins Placed ..................................................................................................
13.7. Cabin Geometry Completed ...................................................................................
13.8. Changing the exits for the occupants ......................................................................
13.9. The results for steering behavior ............................................................................
14.1. Room with corridor and stairs ................................................................................
14.2. Floor Geometry .....................................................................................................
14.3. Placing Stair .........................................................................................................
14.4. Defining Profile ....................................................................................................
14.5. Occupants placed in room ......................................................................................
14.6. Results for SFPE simulation ..................................................................................
14.7. Results for SFPE simulation with collision handling ................................................
14.8. Results for SFPE simulation with collision handling ................................................
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List of Tables
10.1. Summary of IMO 6 Exit Times ............................................................................. 72
Chapter 1. Introduction
The examples in this manual demonstrate many of the features of Pathfinder. It is composed
of two sections. The first half of the manual contains simple example problems to help users
become familiar with Pathfinder's user interface. The second half of the manual - starting with
the first SFPE example problem - contains verification and validation problems. Results from
the second group of problems can be can be used to evaluate the different simulation modes and
compare them to external data.
SFPE and Steering Modes

This section presents a brief description of the different simulation modes available in Pathfinder.
More in-depth information can be found in the Pathfinder Technical Reference. All occupants
in Pathfinder use individual (or agent-based) descision making algorithms. The specific decision
making strategy an occupant uses is determined by the simulation mode. These modes are determined by the selection of simulation parameters. The primary modes are:
1. In SFPE Mode, the occupants follow rules described in SFPE Engineering Guide - Human
Behavior in Fire ([SFPE, 2003]): the speed of the occupants is a function of room density,
occupants can occupy the same space, and flow rates through the doors are based on SFPE
guidelines. This mode provides a base case result that corresponds to a recognized solution.
This analysis option is computationally fast.
2. In SFPE Mode with Collision Avoidance, the occupants follow SFPE rules with the addition
that they avoid colliding with other occupants. This is a hybrid mode that can be susceptible
to more simulation artifacts (e.g. occupants cornering poorly) than the other modes. In SFPE
analyses, adding collision avoidance should not greatly change predicted exit times, but does
make it easier to visually identify congestion and queues. The collision options requires more
computation than pure SFPE mode.
3. In Steering Mode, the occupants are not externally constrained by door queues or room density. Instead, the occupants move toward their goals, while avoiding walls and other occupants. This mode usually produces the most visually realistic results. This is the most computationally intense simulation mode.
Chapter 2. Room with Hallway

This example has 16 occupants in a room with two doors run in both SFPE mode and steering
mode.
Figure 2.1. Model dimensions
Create Geometry
To create the geometry:
1. On the View menu, click Units and select SI.
2. On the View menu, click Edit Snap Grid.... In the Snap grid spacing box, type 1.0 m.
Click OK to close the dialog.
3. In the view toolbar, click Top View ( ).
4. In the left toolbar, click Add a Rectangular Room ( ). Click and drag to draw the room
from point (0,0) to (5,5).
5. In the left toolbar, click Add a Rectangular Room. Click and drag to draw the room from
point (5,2) to (7,3).
6. To merge the room and hallway, hold the CTRL key and use the selection tool ( ) to select
the two rooms. Next, right-click anywhere on the selected rooms and from the pop-up menu
choose Merge. The room and the hallway are now considered one merged room.
Room with Hallway
Figure 2.2. Room with a hallway
Add Exit Door

To add the exit door:
1. In the left toolbar, click Add a new Door ( ).
2. To add the exit door, click and drag from point (7,2) to (7,3). In the Name box, type Exit.
Figure 2.3. Completed geometry
Add Occupants
To add 16 randomly distributed occupants to the room:
1. Click
to add occupants to a rectangular space.
2. In the Count box, enter 16.

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Room with Hallway

3. Click and drag from (0, 0) to (5, 5) to define the space into which the occupants will be added,
Figure 2.4.
Figure 2.4. Placing the occupants in the room
Run SFPE Simulation

Select Simulation Parameters
Pathfinder provides the options for different simulation modes. The most basic is consistent with
the SFPE assumptions. To select the SFPE mode:
1. On the Simulation menu, click Simulation Parameters....
2. Click on the Behavior tab.
3. In the Behavior Mode list, select SFPE.
4. Click OK.
Run Simulation
1. On the Simulation menu, click Run Simulation.... This will open a Save File dialog.
2. Save your document as example1_sfpe.
Summary Report
A summary report is provided in the analysis dialog. It provides "FIRST IN" and "LAST
OUT" times for each room and door. The "TOTAL USE" gives the maximum number of
occupants either in a room or in the door queue. This information will be saved in the
example1_summary.txt file.
View 3D Results
The 3D results viewer will be opened at the end of an analysis.
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Room with Hallway

1. Click the Play button. This will display the occupants as disks with their direction indicated
by a line.
2. At any time click the Pause or Stop button. You can drag the time line to control the animation.
Figure 2.5. The results for SFPE mode
Run the Simulation Using Steering

We will now perform the analysis using steering, where each occupant selects their path and
avoids collisions with each other and barriers. To use steering:
1. On the Simulation menu, click Simulation Parameters...
3. In the Behavior Mode list, select Steering.
4. Click OK.
Run Simulation
1. On the File menu, click Save As. Save the model with the name example1_steering.
Click Save.
2. On the Simulation menu, click Run Simulation....
View 3D Results
by a line.
2. To change to a more realistic display, on the Agents menu, click Show as People. This will
display the occupants as people, Figure 2.6..
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Room with Hallway
Chapter 3. Stairwell Example

This example represents an outer section of a dormitory wing with 30 persons randomly distributed inside. The persons will move through their respective halls and down a stairway to exit
the model.
Create Floor Geometry

We will begin by creating the ground floor:
1. In the toolbar, click SI to select metric units.
2. On the View menu, click Edit Snap Grid.... In the Snap grid spacing box, type 1.0 m.
Click OK to close the dialog.
4. In the left toolbar, double-click Add a Rectangular Room ( ). Note: Using a double-click
makes the tool "sticky", that is, it remains selected so that we can add multiple rooms without
selecting the tool every time. This is indicated by the small green dot on the tool. To unselect
the tool, select another tool or press ESC.
5. Press the left mouse button and drag to create a rectangular room from (4, 0) to (18, 8).
6. Create four additional rooms from (4,0) to (11, 3), (11, 0) to (18, 3), (6, 5) to (12, 8), and
(12, 5) to (18, 8). Note: When we draw new rooms on top of an existing room, the new room
is "cut out" from the existing room. By first drawing the base room and then drawing new
rooms, we have automatically created a connected hallway.
7. Create the base of the stairwell by drawing a rectangular room from (2, 6) to (4, 8).
Figure 3.1. Geometry of Ground Floor
To quickly make the second and third floors, we will copy the ground floor. For convenience
and to help organize our model, we first create two new floors. To create the new floors:
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Stairwell Example
1. In the Floorbox (located above the treeview), click <Add New...>.
2. Type 4 m for the height of the new floor, then click OK.
3. In the tree view, click to select Floor 0.0 m.
4. In the tools toolbar, click the Move Objects ( ) tool. Select Copy Mode. In the Copies box,
type 1. In the Move Z box, type 4.0. Click Copy/Move.
5. While the newly created rooms are selected, right-click and select Change Group in the
context menu. Select Floor 4.0 m.
6. The second and third floors have larger landings than the first floor. Select the landing of the
second floor. With the Select/Edit Objects tool, click and drag the top left handle (blue dot
on the room) to (0,8) and the bottom left handle to (0,6).
Repeat the above steps for a floor at 8.0 m. If you copy the floor at 4.0 m, it is not necessary to
modify the landing. If you changed the active floor when creating a new floor, some geometry
may be hidden. To show the entire model again, click the Floor pulldown menu located above
the Tree View and select <Show All>. The model should look like the figure below.
Figure 3.2. Basic Geometry of All Floors
Add Stairwells
Pathfinder provides two different ways of creating stairs. The two-point stair tool places stairs
in between two already defined floors.
To add the first flight of stairs using the two-point stair tool
1. Create a new floor at 2 m. In the New Floor dialog box, check Set as active floor. This hides
all other floors and causes newly created geometry to be added to the new floor.
2. Create a rectangular landing from (0, 0) to (4, 2).
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Stairwell Example
3. Show the floor at 0 m.
4. Select
to use the two-point stair tool.
5. Click-drag across the edge of the landing on the bottom floor, then click any point along the
edge of the upper landing to place the first stair, Figure 3.3
6. Show the floor at 4 m.
7. Using the two-point stair tool, click-drag across the remaining portion of the stair landing at
2 m and click the landing edge at 4 m to complete the first flight of stairs.
Figure 3.3. Adding the stairs in the top view
Figure 3.4. First Flight of Stairs
Repeat to add the second flight of stairs using a landing at 6.0 m. When creating the stairs, it is
useful to hide floors that you do not want to select.
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Stairwell Example
Figure 3.5. Completed Flight of Stairs
Add Doors
With the geometry finished, doors can be added. This can be done in the 3D view, but it may
be easier to use the top view and hide other floors for ease of use and precision. To work in any
specific floor, right-click it in the tree view and select Set as Active Floor or select the floor
from the drop-down menu above the tree view.
To add doors to the first floor:
1. On the View menu, click Edit Snap Grid..., type 0.5 m, then click OK.
2. Right-click on Floor 0.0 m and select Set as Active Floor.
3. Click the door tool ( ) to select it.
4. Add a door from the hallway to the stairwell. Click and drag from (4, 6.5) to (4, 7.5).
5. Create 1 m doors for each room. Click and drag from (9.5, 3.0) to (10.5, 3.0), (11.5, 3.0) to
(12.5, 3.0), (10.5, 5.0) to (11.5, 5.0), and (12.5, 5.0) to (13.5, 5.0).
Repeat for Floor 4.0 m and Floor 8.0 m.
Create an exit door on the ground floor from (4, 8) to (6, 8).
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Stairwell Example
Figure 3.6. Doors added to the model
Add Occupants
We now add occupants to each floor.
1. Right-click on Floor 0.0 m and select Set as Active Floor.
2. Hold the CTRL key and click on each of the four rooms on the floor to select them.
3. On the Model menu, click Add Occupants.
4. In the By Number box, type 20, then click OK
5. In the same manner, add 50 occupants to the second floor and 30 occupants to the third floor.
To show the completed model:
1. On the View toolbar, click Perspective View.
2. On the View menu, under Agents, click Show as People.
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Stairwell Example
Figure 3.7. Completed Model
Run the Simulation

Run Simulation
1. On the File menu, click Save As. Create a new folder to store the results and save the model
with the name example3_steering.
View 3D Results
The 3D results viewer will open automatically at the end of an analysis.
by a line.
2. On the Agents menu, click Show as People. This will display the occupants as people, Figure 3.8.
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Stairwell Example
Figure 3.8. simulation results for Steering mode
Run SFPE Simulation

Pathfinder provides the options for different simulation modes. The SFPE mode is consistent
with the SFPE assumptions. To select the SFPE mode:
3. In the Behavior Mode list, select SFPE.
4. Click OK.
Run Simulation
1. On the File menu, click Save As. Save the model with the name example3_sfpe. Click
Save.
Summary Report
example1_sfpe_summary.txt file.
View 3D Results
The 3D results viewer will open automatically at the end of the analysis.
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Stairwell Example
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Chapter 4. Sketching on Background Image Example

This example demonstrates how to import a file as a background image and then create the
model by sketching. The image used is the office space of Fog Creek (we use their FogBugz software to track our bug reports) and is displayed at http://www.joelonsoftware.com/
items/2009/01/15.html. Right-click to download and save the image file, named 15floorplan.png.
Figure 4.1. Image of the office geometry
Import Background Image

We will begin by importing the background image for sketching:
1. In the toolbar, click EN to select english units.
2. On the View menu, uncheck Show Snap Grid. This will allow us to sketch in the 2D view
without snapping to the grid.
3. On the Model menu, click Add a Background Image.... Open the 15floorplan.png file. This
will display the Configure Background Image dialog.
4. We first define the "Anchor Point" for the image. Type the coordinates as Model X: 0.0 ft,
Model Y: 0.0 ft, and Model Z: 0.0 ft. Click the Choose Anchor Point button and click on
the mark in the lower left of the image, Figure 4.2.
5. We next define two points that will be used to scale the image geometry and to rotate the
image (if needed). Click the Choose Point A button and click on the cross mark in the upper
left of the image. Click the Choose Point B button and click on the cross mark in the upper
right of the image. In the dist. A to B textbox, type 166.0 ft, Figure 4.3.
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Sketching on Background Image Example
Figure 4.2. Define the Anchor Point on the background image
Figure 4.3. Define points A and B
Sketch the Rooms

We will now sketch the rooms on top of the background image. Remember that holding the
SPACE key down temporarily disables snap-to. Also, after you define any room, you can select
the room and then select any of the points that define the shape and drag the point to adjust the
shape.
2. In the View menu, click Walkable Area Transparency.... In the dialog that opens, enter .75,
and click "OK". This will make all rooms, stairs, and doors 75% solid (25% transparent) so
that the underlying background image can still be seen.
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3. Zoom in on the top left of the background image and, in the left toolbar, click Add a Polygonal
Room ( ). Click to define the periphery of the room. Use a right-click to draw the last line
that closes the polygon, Figure 4.4. How precise you want to be when defining the room
boundaries depends on you. In general, the results of the evacuation analysis are relatively
insensitive to exact precision of the room dimensions.
4. Repeat for the adjacent office, Figure 4.5.
5. We will now make copies of the second office, since the remaining offices are identical to
it. Select the second office, then,in the tools toolbar, click the Move Objects
icon. Select
Copy Mode. In the Copies box, type 11. To define how far to move each copy, click on the
lower right corner of the polygon that describes the office and then click on the corresponding
point in the adjacent office, Figure 4.6. The second click will make the copies, Figure 4.7.
6. You will probably need to zoom in and adjust the exact positions of the offices. Select Normal
Mode to move an office without making a copy. When completed, the model will look like, ,
Figure 4.8
Figure 4.4. Sketch of first office
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Figure 4.5. Sketch of second office
Figure 4.6. Preparing to copy second office
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Figure 4.7. After making copies of the second office
Figure 4.8. After making copies of the second office
1. Continue to sketch the rooms. Figure 4.9 shows sketches made that go around furniture. As
a second sketch is made next to an existing room, the cursor will snap to the existing room
coordinates. Hold the CNTRL key and select both rooms, then right-click and select Merge.
Continue this process to complete the sketch.
2. You can cut holes in an existing room by drawing a new polygonal room on the existing room
and deleting the polygon.
3. Continue the sketching process until you have made all the rooms for the office. Note that
we can leave the walls with a finite thickness separating the rooms. After some time, your
model will look like Figure 4.10
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Figure 4.9. Merging separate sketches to make one room
Figure 4.10. After all rooms have been defined. Note that some offices are separated by doors, so
those rooms are not connected to the main walking space.
Add Doors
Doors are added to the offices that are separate from the open walking space.
2. Double-click to select
the door tool. By default the doors are 32 inches wide. The Max
Depth is the maximum thickness the tool will use to search for adjoining space. Depending
on how accurately your model is sketched, you might need to increase the value.
3. Zoom in to the upper left of the model and move the mouse to the location for the door and
the tool will snap to the adjoining spaces, Figure 4.11.
20

4. Continue adding doors until the model looks like Figure 4.12.
Figure 4.11. Adding a door to the model
Figure 4.12. Adding a door to the model
Add Occupants
We will add 80 occupants, 50 placed in offices and open space and 20 and 10 placed in the two
conference rooms.
1. Double-click the Add an Occupant tool ( ). Click to position 50 occupants in offices or
open space, Figure 4.13.
2. To add occupants to the conference room, right-click on the left conference room and in the
Pop-Up menu, click Add Occupants....
21

3. For Placement, select Random. In the By Number box, type 20. Click OK to close the
dialog and add the occupants, Figure 4.14.
4. Repeat to add 10 occupants to the adjacent conference room.
Figure 4.13. Adding individual occupants to the model
Figure 4.14. Adding occupants by room
Run Steering Simulation

Pathfinder provides the option to use steering behavior, where each occupant selects their path
and avoids collisions with each other and barriers. To use steering:
22

1. On the Simulation menu, click Simulation Parameters...
3. In the Behavior Mode list, select Steering. Make sure both Collision Handling and Inertia
are selected.
4. Click OK.
Run Simulation
1. On the File menu, click Save. Save the model with the name fog_creek.
View 3D Results
by a line.
3. To change to a more realistic display, on the Agents menu, click Show as People. This will
display the occupants as people, Figure 4.15..
Figure 4.15. The results during evacuation. They do dress nice at Fog Creek, don't they.
23
Chapter 5. Extracting Rooms from a 2D DXF

This example demonstrates how to import a 2D DXF file and automatically extract rooms to
create a Pathfinder file. The DXF used is the floor plan for the Thunderhead Engineering office.
Figure 5.1. DXF of the Thunderhead Engineering office
This example uses the English unit system. To ensure the English unit system is enabled in
Pathfinder: on the main toolbar, click EN.
Import DXF File

First we will import the DXF file:
1. On the File menu, click Import...
2. From the file chooser dialog, select C:\Program Files\Pathfinder 2009\examples\ThunderheadOffice_acad_2000.dxf, then click Open.
3. The DXF units dialog will open. Select in (inches) as the unit then click OK.
Prepare the DXF Data for Room Extraction

As can be seen in Figure 5.2, there is quite a bit of extra information in the DXF that we do not
need, including several different layouts of the office, side views of the wall construction, door
symbols, etc. The only data we really need are the lines that form the boundaries of the rooms.
1. On the main toolbar, click to enable the Selection Tool. Delete everything but the bottom left
room configuration by drawing boxes around the geometry to delete then pressing DELETE
on the keyboard. The data remaining should look like that in Figure 5.1.
24
Extracting Rooms from a 2D DXF

2. On the View menu, click Reset View to All Objects.
3. Press and hold the ALT key, then click the door symbol in the upper-right corner of the office,
then press DELETE. Holding ALT while selecting an object will cause the object's parent
group to be selected, which will in turn select the object and all the siblings of the object in
the hierarchy.
4. Now delete any other objects that do not contribute to obstructions or room boundaries or
that should not otherwise be present in the simulation, e.g. furniture. In this example, we will
delete the table on the right side of the office, the furniture in the conference room, and the
desk chairs. When finished, the DXF data should now appear as in Figure 5.3.
Figure 5.2. An imported 2D DXF with too much information
Figure 5.3. Trimmed 2D DXF Data
25
Extract the Rooms

Now that the DXF data has been trimmed to the desired set, we can extract the rooms. To extract
room information from the drawing:
1. From the Floor drop-down above the tree view, select the floor into which the resulting rooms
will be added. For this example, the floor is Floor 0.0 ft.
2. Double-click the 3D Extract tool (
).
3. Single-click anywhere in the hallway. This will create a room that fills the hallway and adjacent rooms.
4. Single-click anywhere in the conference room.
5. Press ESC to exit the extraction tool.
There should now be two rooms as shown in Figure 5.4.
Figure 5.4. Rooms extracted from a 2D DXF
We now observe that the main room in the office spills outside of the office. To remove this
outer gap from the office, perform the following steps:
1. Select the Thin Wall Tool (
).
2. Click a point on the top edge of the doorway, then click another point on the bottom edge of the
doorway (Figure 5.5). The main office room should now be disconnected from the outer gap.
3. Click to select the outer "room", then press DELETE. The model should now look like that
in Figure 5.6.
26
Figure 5.5. Disconnecting the outer gap from a room-extracted 2D DXF
Figure 5.6. Extracted office with the outer gap removed
Add Doors
We will now add doors that, in SFPE mode, control the flow of occupants and in both SFPE and
steering modes connect the separated rooms. First we will use the door tool to fill doorways that
are internal to the main office room.
27

1. Double-click to select the door tool (
multiple doors.
) to indicate that this tool should remain active for
2. The office has no doorways greater than 45 in wide and 6 in deep, so in the property panel,
enter 50 in for the Max Width and 10 in for the Max Depth. It is good practice to set these
values slightly greater than expected to allow some tolerance.
3. Hover the cursor over the doorway for the northwest room of the office. A preview of a thick
door should appear in the doorway. Left-click once to place the door. This will automatically
substract that area from the main room, disconnect the northwest room, and create a thick door.
4. Do the same for the doorways to the southwest room, the two southern rooms, and to the closet
in the northeast corner. You should now have seven rooms and five thick doors as shown in
Figure 5.7.
5. Press ESC to exit the door tool and revert back to a navigation tool.
Figure 5.7. A 2D DXF with extracted rooms and internal doors
We will now attach the conference room to the main room with two more thick doors.
1. Because the conference room is detached from the main hallway, we will have to draw the
thick doors manually. We still want them to match the DXF, however, so expand the tree view
so that the "ThunderheadOffice_acad_2000.dxf" group is visible. Click on the group and in
the property panel check the box next to Visible to show the DXF data.
2. Double-click the door tool ( ) to select it and make it sticky.
3. For each door on the angled walls, click and drag the cursor from the corner of the doorway
on one of the rooms to the opposite corner on the other room, using the DXF lines as a guide.
This will create two more thick doors connecting the two rooms.
28

Finally, an exit door can be created on the office entrance. The resulting model should look like
that in Figure 5.8. The model is now ready to be filled with occupants and simulated.
Figure 5.8. The final model for 2D DXF room extraction
Add Occupants
With the geometry in place, it is now possible to add occupants and run the simulation. To add
occupants:
1. Double-click the Add an Occupant tool.
2. Click next to each desk, adding a total of 6 occupants.
Run the Simulation

To run the simulation:
1. On the Simulation menu, click Run Simulation...
2. In the Save dialog, create a new folder to store the results, then save the current simulation
in a file named thunderhead_office.pth
3. The simulation will begin when you click Save.
Simulation Results
A screenshot of the 3D results is shown in Figure 5.9. In this image, occupants are shown as
disks, with the original DXF image as a background image.
29
Figure 5.9. 3D Simulation Results
Notice that occupants are able to move freely over some areas of the model that, in the original
DXF, were obstructed by furnature (e.g. the conference room sofa). This is because those elements were removed from the model and did not affect the movement mesh.
Also notice that, for some occupants, the shortest path to the exit takes them through the conference room. If you need to prevent occupants from taking short cuts through internal rooms, you
can eliminate the "upstream" doorway. In this case, eliminating the left conference room door
would prevent additional occupants from entering the conference rooms.
30
Chapter 6. Working with Imported 3D Data (PyroSim, FDS, and

3D DXF)
This example demonstrates how to extract rooms from imported 3D data and work with multiple
floors. The 3D data will come from the FDS townhouse example, shown in Figure 6.1.
Figure 6.1. thouse4.data FDS file
This example uses the metric system. To work in the metric system, click SI on the main toolbar.
Import FDS File

First we will import the FDS file:
1. On the File menu, click Import....
2. In the file chooser dialog, select C:\Program Files\Pathfinder 2009\examples\thouse5.fds, then click Open.
The imported 3D data is placed in the Imported Geometry group, in the thouse5.fds
subgroup. The model should now appear as in Figure 6.1.
Configure the Floors

The imported geometry contains two levels. We will create floors in our model to match. The
bottom level is at Z=0, and our model already has a default floor at Z=0, so we do not need to
create one for the bottom level. We do, however, need to create a floor for the top level.
31
Working with Imported 3D Data (PyroSim, FDS, and 3D DXF)

1. In the Floor box (above the tree view), click <Add New...>
2. In the New Floor dialog, type 2.5 m or click anywhere on the floor of the top level in the
3D view.
3. Click OK.
4. Expand the Floors node in the tree view and right-click Floor 0.0 m. From the rightclick menu select Set as Active Floor. This will cause only the bottom floor geometry to be
visible.
5. With the bottom floor still selected in the tree view, type 2 m for the Z Max Filter in the
property panel above the 3D view. Now the ceiling of the bottom floor will be hidden from
view.
Extract the Rooms

Now that the floors have been prepared, we can extract the rooms from the imported data.
1. Expand the Floors group in the tree view and right-click Floor 0.0 m. From the rightclick menu select Set as Active Floor to only show the bottom floor. Subsequent rooms
created by Pathfinder will be placed in this floor group.
2. Click to select the 3D Extract tool (
).
3. Click a point on the floor in the lower level. The point must be clear of any obstructions within
the maximum head height. A room will be created that contains the selected point with all
overhead obstructions subtracted.
4. In the Floor box, click to select Floor 2.5 m.
5. Extract the rooms on the top floor as performed in step 4. This time, you will extract two
rooms - the master bedroom and the remaining portion of the upper floor - from the imported
geometry.
All the rooms can now be viewed by clicking the Floor drop-down and selecting <Show All>.
To hide the imported geometry, on the View menu, click to deselect Show Imported Geometry
( ). The model should now have three rooms, as shown in Figure 6.2.
32
Figure 6.2. Rooms extracted from an FDS File
Add Doors
We will now add doors to the extracted rooms. There are three doorways on the top level and one
exit door on the bottom level. To create the doors on the top level perform the following steps:
1. Switch to the Top View ( ).
2. Show the imported geometry in wireframe mode by clicking the Wireframe button ( ).
3. Set the top floor to be active by right-clicking the floor in the tree view and selecting Set as
Active Floor.
4. Click the Door tool ( ).
5. In the property panel for the door tool, set the Max Width to "150 cm" and the Max Depth
to "25.4 cm".
6. Position the cursor over the doorway leading to the lower-left room. A preview of a thick
door should appear in the doorway. Click to place the door. This will automatically subtract
the shape of the door from the room, separate the lower-left area into its own room, and add
the thick door.
7. Click the Thin Wall tool ( ). Separate the lower-left room from the hallway by clicking two
points on the boundary of the room where the lower-left room meets the hallway as shown
in Figure 6.3.
8. Now another door can be added between the lower-left room and the hallway by clicking the
door tool and dragging a line along the boundary where the hallway and the lower-left room
meet. This will create a thin door.
33

9. Click the Door tool, and draw a thick door connecting the hallway to the upper room using
the imported geometry as a snapping guide.
Figure 6.3. Separating a room from another
With the imported geometry hidden, the top floor should now appear as in Figure 6.4.
Figure 6.4. The top floor of thouse4 with doors
Now we will add the exit door to the bottom floor. To add the exit door:
34

1. In the Floor box, click to select Floor 0.0 m.
2. Click the Door tool, and draw a thin exit door next to the kitchen as shown in Figure 6.5.
Figure 6.5. The bottom floor of the town house with an exit door
Add Stairs
To complete this model we will add the stairway to connect the bottom and top floors. To add
the stairs:
1. In the Floor box, click to select <Show All>.
2. Click to select the Two-point Stair Tool (
).
3. Click and drag to draw a line across the bottom edge of the stair as shown in Figure 6.6.
4. Click a point on the top edge of the stair.
35
Figure 6.6. The bottom edge of the stairway
The model is now complete with rooms, doors, and stairs and is ready to be filled with occupants.
The final model with imported geometry hidden should look like that in Figure 6.7.
Figure 6.7. Completed townhouse model.
36
Chapter 7. SFPE Example 1

This example attempts to reproduce example 1 in the SFPE Engineering Guide - Human Behavior in Fire ([SFPE, 2003]). We determine the total movement time for a room containing
300 people. The room has a travel distance of up to 200 feet to egress through two 32-inch doors
that lead to two enclosed 44-inch stairs (height and depth of tread of 7 inches and 11 inches,
respectively) and down 50 feet of stairs to a wide discharge at grade, Figure 7.1.
Figure 7.1. Sketch of the model
Create Geometry
To select English measurements:
1. On the View menu, click Units and select EN to display measurements using the English
system.
To specify snap grid spacing:
1. On the View menu, click Edit Snap Grid....
2. In the Specify snap grid spacing menu, type 10.0. By default, length units will be in feet,
however, you can type a value followed by a unit (e.g.: "in" or "m") and the length will be
converted to feet.
3. Click OK.
To create the room:
37
SFPE Example 1
2. In the tools toolbar, click Add a Rectangular Room ( ).
3. In the Z Plane box, type 26.843 (the height of the room above ground).
4. Click and drag to draw the room from point (0,0) to (200,30). In order to properly see the
geometry, it might be necessary to zoom out by rolling back the mouse wheel. The dimensions
of the room will be displayed below the 2D view as you drag the mouse, Figure 7.2. You can
also directly type the coordinates into the coordinate boxes.
5. In the Name box type Room.
Figure 7.2. Drawing the room
To create the landing:

1. In the tools toolbar, click Add a Rectangular Room.
2. In the Z Plane box, type 0.0 ft.
3. The left edge of the landing should be 40 ft to the right of the room. Click and drag to draw
the landing from point (240,0) to (250,30), Figure 7.3.
4. In the Name box type Landing.
38
SFPE Example 1
Figure 7.3. Drawing the landing
To add the first stairway:

1. In the tools toolbar, click Create Stairs between two edges ( ).
2. In the Stair Width box, type 44.0 in.
3. In the Door 1 Width box, type 32.0 in. Door 1 is the door associated with the first click
of the mouse when creating stairs. In the Door 2 Width box, type 32.0 in.
4. The Tread Rise is 7.0 in and the Tread Run is 11.0 in.
5. Position the cursor at X=200 and Y=20 ft, click and then click a second time on the edge of
the landing. This will create the stair.
6. In the Name box type Stair Left.
To add the second stairway:
1. In the tools toolbar, click the Create Stairs between two edges ( ) .
2. In the Stair Width box, type 44.0 in.
3. In the Door 1 Width and Door 2 Width boxes, type 32.0 in.
4. The Tread Rise is 7.0 in and the Tread Run is 11.0 in.
5. Position the cursor at X=200 and Y=10 ft and click. Hold the SHIFT key to switch the location
of the stairs and then click the edge of the landing to create the stair.
6. In the Name box type Stair Right.
39
SFPE Example 1
Figure 7.4. Adding the stairs
To add the exit door:

1. In the tools toolbar, click Add a New Door ( ).
2. Click and drag along the edge of the landing opposite the stairs to add a door to the entire
width of the landing.
3. In the Name box, type Exit.
Figure 7.5. Adding the exit door
Add Occupants
To add 300 randomly spaced occupants to the room:
40
SFPE Example 1
1. Using the Selection tool, click to select room.
2. On the Model menu, click Add Occupants....
3. In the By Number box, type 300.
4. Click OK.
5. On the view toolbar, click Perspective View ( ).
6. On the View menu, click Reset View to All Objects.
To display occupants as people, on the View menu, click Agents and select Show as random
people. Your model should look similar to Figure 7.6.
Figure 7.6. Completed model with occupants after rotation
Select SFPE Mode

Pathfinder provides the option to select different simulation modes. The SFPE movement mode
is consistent with the assumptions used in the SFPE Engineering Guide - Human Behavior
in Fire ([SFPE, 2003]). Assumptions include: (1) the occupants move toward the exits using
the shortest path, (2) the maximum occupant speed is a function of room density, (3) occupants
move independently and can occupy the same space as other occupants (see end of this section
on how to add collision avoidance), and (4) queues form at doors, with the flow rate through the
door as specified by SFPE guidelines. To select the SFPE mode:
2. Click the Behavior tab.
3. In the Behavior Mode box, select SFPE. The SFPE option means that the occupants will
move at a speed determined by the density in the current room. The occupants will not inter41
SFPE Example 1
act, but will queue at doors. The flow rate through doors will be calculated based on SFPE
guidelines using the boundary layer to modify the effective door width.
4. In the Door Boundary Layer box, type 6 in.
5. Click OK.
Run Simulation
1. On the Simulation menu, click Run Simulation.... This will start the simulation.
2. Save your document to a new folder. Use the name sfpe1_sfpe.
3. A summary report is provided in the analysis dialog. It provides First In and Last Out times
for each room and door. The Total Use gives the maximum number of occupants either in a
room or in the door queue, Figure 7.7. This information will be saved in the summary.txt file.
Figure 7.7. Simulation summary data given on the run dialog (saved in summary.txt)
View Results
When the simulation is finished, the Pathfinder 3D results view will be launched. To view results:
1. Click the Play button. This will display the occupants as circles with their direction indicated
by a triangle.
3. To view occupants as people, click the Stop button, on the Agents menu, click Show as
People, then click the Play button, Figure 7.8.
42
SFPE Example 1
Figure 7.8. Animated display of movement
Detailed information for each room is provided in comma-separated value (CSV) files that can
imported to a spreadsheet.
Compare Results to SFPE Calculation

The SFPE solution to this problem is given in Figure 7.9.
43
SFPE Example 1
Figure 7.9. SFPE Example 1 Solution
The PathFinder solution gives the time to exit the stairs as 257.30 sec (Stair Left door 2) and
221.93 sec (Stair Right door 2), compared to the SFPE solution of 241.6 sec. The reason for the
differences is that the random distribution of people resulted in more occupants leaving through
the Stair Left door than the Stair Right door.
44
SFPE Example 1
Re-Run the SFPE Mode Simulation with Equal Door Loads

To more exactly match the SFPE calculation, we will split the room into two equal parts and
place 150 occupants in each room.
1. On the File menu, click Save As... and give the name as sfpe1_sfpe_symmetric.
2. Remove the existing occupants. Right-click the Occupant Group, then click Delete.
3. On the View menu, click Edit Snap Grid.... Type 5.0 ft, then click OK.
4. In the Top View, click the Split icon
5. Click the center of the left edge of the room and the center of the right edge of the room to
split the room into two equal parts, Figure 7.10.
7. Add 150 occupants to each room.
8. Run the simulation.
Figure 7.10. SFPE Example 1 Simulation
In the new solution, the time to exit the stairs is 239.33 sec (Stair Left door 2) and 239.30 sec
(Stair Right door 2), compared to the SFPE solution of 241.6 sec, Figure 7.11.
45
SFPE Example 1
Figure 7.11. Solution for symmetric model
Run Using Steering Movement Mode

The more visually realistic movement option in Pathfinder is to use a steering movement mode.
In this mode, occupants move towards their exit goal, but avoid collisions with other occupants
and walls. In addition, there is no externally imposed limit on flow rates through doors, hallways,
or stairs. To run with this movement option:
1. Open the sfpe1_sfpe model created above. Do not open the symmetric model; open the first
model with only one large room. On the File menu, click Save As... and give the name as
sfpe1_steering.
4. In the Behavior Modebox select Steering. Click OK to close the Simulation Parameters
dialog.
(Stair Right door 2), compared to the SFPE solution of 241.6 sec, Figure 7.11. It is typical that
the steering movement model predicts shorter exit times than the SFPE movement model.
46
SFPE Example 1
Figure 7.12. Occupant motion using steering movement
Adding Collision Avoidance to the SFPE Mode

The SFPE mode does not prevent multiple occupants from occupying the same space. A collision
handling option can be added to the SFPE. To run with this movement option:
1. Open the sfpe1_sfpe model created above. Do not open the symmetric model; open the first
model with only one large room. On the File menu, click Save As... and give the name as
sfpe1_collision.
4. In the Behavior Mode box select SFPE.
5. Click to select Collision Handling. Click OK to close the Simulation Parameters dialog.
(Stair Right door 2). These times are similar to the standard SFPE solution, but the appearance
of the solution is improved, since the occupants form queues at the doors.
47
SFPE Example 1
Figure 7.13. Occupant motion using SFPE movement with collision avoidance
48
Chapter 8. SFPE Example 2

This is the second example in the SFPE Engineering Guide - Human Behavior in Fire ([SFPE, 2003]). The example determines the total movement time for a 5-story building with the
following characteristics:
1. There are 200 people on each floor above the ground floor.
2. Each floor is served by two 44 inch (1.12 m) wide stairways. The doors leading into and from
the stairway are 32 inches wide (0.81 m). The stair design uses 7 inch/11 inch risers and treads.
3. The floor to floor distance is 12 feet. Floor to landing distance is 6 feet.
4. Landings between the floors are 4 x 8 feet (1.22 x 2.44 m).
5. Handrails are provided on both sides of the stairways 2.5 inches (64 mm) from the wall.
The model is sketched Figure 8.1. Obviously, a real building would have a different arrangement
of landings, but this model captures the geometry as described in the example. Consistent with
the SFPE description of the problem, exits are provided on the first floor such that the flow of
400 people from the upper floors through each stairway is the controlling component.
Figure 8.1. Sketch of the model
49
SFPE Example 2
Figure 8.2. The PathFinder model
Create Problem Geometry

There are two ways to create the geometry for this model. The first will be by direct drawing
of the input. The second imports an FDS file and then the Extract Floor tool to speed model
construction. Either approach will result in the same model.
Create Floors and Landings by Drawing

Use the following steps to define the floors:
1. On the View menu, click Units and select EN to display measurements using the English
system.
2. On the View menu, click Edit Snap Grid.... In the Specify snap grid spacing menu, type
2.0. Click OK.
3. Create the first room at Z=0. In the view toolbar, click the Top View
icon. In the tools
toolbar, click the Add a Rectangular Room
icon. In the Z Plane box, type 0.0. In the
coordinate boxes enter the following values: X1: 0.0, Y1: 0.0, X2: 60.0, Y2: 40.0. Click
Create.
4. Click the Zoom Fit
icon to rescale the view.
5. Replicate the room to create the five floors. In the view toolbar, click the Selection tool
icon. Select the room. In the tools toolbar, click the Move Objects
icon. Select Copy
Mode. In the Count box, type 4. In the Move Z box, type 12.0. Click Copy/Move.
50
SFPE Example 2
Your model should now look like Figure 8.3
Figure 8.3. The floors in the model
Use the following steps to define the landings:

1. Create the first landing at Z=6.0 ft. In the view toolbar, click the Top View
icon. In the
tools toolbar, click the Add a Rectangular Room
icon. In the Z Plane box, type 6.0.
In the coordinate boxes enter the following values: X1: -13.5, Y1: 16.0, X2: -9.5, Y2:
24.0. Click Create.
2. Replicate the landing. In the view toolbar, click the Selection tool icon. Select the landing.
In the tools toolbar, click the Move Objects
icon. Select Copy Mode. In the Count box,
3. Repeat for the landing on the opposite side. In the view toolbar, click the Top View icon.
In the tools toolbar, click the Add a Rectangular Room
icon. In the Z Plane box, type
6.0. In the coordinate boxes enter the following values: X1: 69.5, Y1: 16.0, X2: 73.5,
Y2: 24.0. Click Create.
4. Replicate the landing. In the view toolbar, click the Selection tool icon. Select the landing.
In the tools toolbar, click the Move Objects
icon. Select Copy Mode. In the Count box,
Your model should now look like Figure 8.4
51
SFPE Example 2
Figure 8.4. The floors and landings in the model
Create Floors and Landings by Importing an FDS File

To create the model by importing an FDS file, we must first create the FDS file with the data
given below.
&OBST
&HOLE
&HOLE
&HOLE
XB=-0.3048,26.82,-0.3048,12.50,0.00,14.94/ Obstruction
XB=0.00,1.22,4.88,7.32,0.00,14.94/ Hole
XB=25.30,26.52,4.88,7.32,0.00,14.94/ Hole
XB=4.11,22.40,0.00,12.19,0.00,14.94/ Hole
1. Paste the FDS data into a text file, and rename it spfe2.fds to create an FDS file for importing.
FDS files are metric by default, but Pathfinder will perform the necessary conversions. Make
sure English units are selected from the main toolbar.
2. Import the FDS file into PathFinder by selecting Import from the File menu, Figure 8.5.
3. Use the Extract Floor... tool from the Model menu to create floors at the floor and landing
levels. Enter all the floors at once as a comma-separated list (0, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48)
and press OK to generate the floors.
4. Hide the FDS Geometry by unchecking Show FDS Geometry from the View menu, Figure 8.6
5. Delete the extraneous floor sections.
52
SFPE Example 2
Figure 8.5. Imported FDS File
Figure 8.6. Extracted Floors with FDS Geometry hidden
Create Stairs
To create the stairs:
1. Select the two-point stair tool ( ) and enter 44 inches for the width, and 32 inches for both
the door1 and door2 widths.
53
SFPE Example 2
2. Click on the lower landing and position the stair towards the outer side of the landing. Click
on the lower floor to create the stair from the landing to the lower floor.
3. Use the Move Objects tool to make three copies of the stair, separated by 12 ft in the Z
direction.
4. Add the stairs the go up from the landing. Click on the lower landing and position the stair
towards the opposite outer side of the landing. Click on the second floor to create the stair
from the landing to the second floor.
5. Use the Move Objects tool to make three copies of the stair, separated by 12 ft in the Z
direction.
6. Repeat on the other side of the model.
7. Add the exit doors. Select the door tool ( ) and in the Max Width box, type 120.0 in .
Place a door adjacent to both stairs on the lowest floor. These doors are wide enough that exit
from the first floor does not affect the egress time. Set the names to Exit Right and Exit
Left to aid in later plotting of the exit rates through each door, Figure 8.7.
Figure 8.7. The right exit door on the bottom floor
Define Profiles
Profiles describe the characteristics of the occupants, including the walking speed, delay times
before movement, size, display image, and base color. We will use a different color for each floor,
so that we can identify occupants in the graphical display of their egress. To define the profiles:
1. On the Model menu click Edit Profiles. Click Rename and change the name of the default
profile to Floor 1.
2. Click the Color box, click the Palette tab, and select a red color. Click OK. Click Apply.
3. Click New to create a new profile, give it the name Floor 2, and give it an orange color.
54
SFPE Example 2
4. Repeat for floors 3, 4, and 5, giving colors yellow, green, and blue .
Add Occupants
To add occupants:
1. Select the first floor. On the Model menu click Add Occupants. For the Profile select Floor
1. For the Exit select nearest. For the Placement select Random. For Occupant Count select
By Number and enter 200. Click OK.
2. Repeat for each floor, selecting the corresponding profile for each floor.
A model made using this approach is shown in Figure 8.8
Figure 8.8. PathFinder model
Select Behaviors
PathFinder provides the options for different behaviors during egress. The most basic is behavior
that is consistent with the SFPE assumptions. To select the SFPE behavior
3. In the Behavior Mode select SFPE.
4. In the Door Boundary Layer box, type 6 in.
5. Under Door Flow Rate Calculation, select theUse Max Flow radio button.
6. Click OK.
The SFPE option means that the occupants will move to the nearest exit at a speed determined by
the occupant density in the room. The occupants will not interact, but will queue at the door. The
55
SFPE Example 2
flow rate through the door will be calculated based on SFPE guidelines with the flow reduced
by the boundary layer.
Run Simulation
To run the simulation
1. On the Simulation menu, click Run Simulation.... This will start the simulation. Save the
model with the name sfpe2_sfpe.pth.
2. A summary report is provided in the analysis dialog. It provides First In and Last Out times
for each room and door.
View Results
When the simulation is finished, the PathFinder post-processor (Behemoth) will be launched.
To view results
1. On the Scene menu, select View Navigation Mesh to view the Pathfinder geometry and hide
the FDS geometry.
by a line.
4. To view people, click the Stop button, on the Agents menu, click Show as People, click the
Play button.
You will notice that in SFPE mode, occupants can overlap in space when they form queues at
the doors, Figure 8.9.
Figure 8.9. Display of results for SFPE mode. Note that occupants can overlap in space.
56
SFPE Example 2
Another useful way to view the data is to plot either floor occupancy or door flow rates. These
options are available under the Results menu. Figure 8.10 shows a graph of floor occupancy as
a function of time.
Figure 8.10. Display of floor occupancy results for SFPE mode.
Detailed information for each room is provided in the comma-separated value (csv) files that can
be imported to a spreadsheet.
Compare Results to SFPE Calculation

The SFPE solution to this problem is given in Figure 8.11.
57
SFPE Example 2
Figure 8.11. SFPE Example 2 Solution
The PathFinder solution gives the time for the last occupant to exit as 638 seconds, compared
to the SFPE solution of 617 seconds. The primary reason for the difference is the initial random
locations of the occupants. As a result, 522 occupants exit from the left exit in 638 seconds and
478 from the right exit in 573 seconds. For a symmetric model, the total exit time is 606 seconds,
which is 10 seconds faster than the given SFPE solution.
The difference is due to how the landings and walking speeds on the stairways are calculated. The
SFPE solution calculates 17 seconds to travel one landing (8 feet) and the stair length between the
58
SFPE Example 2
floors (22.3 feet). The SFPE solution assumes the speed is that corresponding to the maximum
flow rate density (106 ft/min). The Pathfinder solution uses the unimpeded speed and the stair
k factor which gives a speed of 180 ft/min. In addition, the length of the path on the landing in
Pathfinder is approximately 2/3 foot. Thus, the Pathfinder distance is 23 feet (22.3 ft + 0.6 ft),
giving a time of 7.6 seconds. The expected Pathfinder time is then 600 seconds for the queue and
7 seconds for the stairway and landing, or 607 seconds total.
The PathFinder solution gives the time for the last occupant to exit as 638 seconds, compared to
the SFPE solution of 617 seconds. The reason for the difference is the initial random locations
of the occupants. As a result, 522 occupants exit from the left exit in 638 seconds and 478 from
the right exit in 573 seconds.
Re-Run the Simulation Using Collision Avoidance

We will now perform the analysis using the SFPE basic approach, but with the people avoiding
each other. The intent of this mode is to still be consistent with the SFPE model, but to allow
people to queue realistically at doors. To change to this behavior
3. In the Behavior Mode select SFPE.
4. Select the Avoid Collisions check box.
5. Under Door Flow Rate Calculation, select the Use Max Flow radio button.
6. Click OK.
The results in this mode show that occupants do not overlap, but the predicted egress time becomes longer at 885 seconds. This is because the SFPE mode still limits flow rates through doors,
and in addition, there is collision avoidance that slows movement.
Re-Run the Simulation Using Steering Behavior

The steering behavior mode removes the constraints imposed by the SFPE mode and allows each
occupant to act as an independent agent. The intent of this mode is to provide a realistic estimate
of egress times. This mode has less supporting justification than the SFPE mode.
3. In the Behavior Mode select Steering.
4. Click OK.
This mode predicts a time of 483 seconds for egress. The movement appears to be the most
realistic, Figure 8.12. In this figure, the option to view occupant paths has been selected. In
addition, one occupant has been selected, highlighting that occupants path.
59
SFPE Example 2
Figure 8.12. Display of movement for Steering mode
The room occupancy is shown in Figure 8.13 shows a graph of floor occupancy as a function
of time.
Figure 8.13. Display of floor occupancy results for Steering mode.
60
Chapter 9. IMO Test 1, Maintaining set walking speed in

corridor
This example describes International Maritime Organization Test 1 [IMO, 2002]. One person in
a corridor 2 m wide and 40 m long with a walking speed of 1 m/s should be demonstrated to
cover this distance in 40 s.
Create Problem Geometry in Pathfinder

We will draw the model in Pathfinder:
1. On the top toolbar, click SI to select metric units.
3. In the Specify snap grid spacing dialog, enter 0.5 m.
4. Click OK.
6. In the left toolbar, click Add a Rectangular Room ( ).
7. Click and drag from point (0,0) to point (40.5,2.0). Alternately, you can manually
enter the values in the X and Y coordinates boxes.
Figure 9.1. The Top View in Pathfinder, showing the room
Add a Door
To define an exit door:
1. In the tools toolbar, click Add a new Door ( )
2. In the Max Width box, type 1.0 m.
3. Zoom in to the right side of the corridor. Click point (40.5,1.5) to place the door.
61
IMO Test 1, Maintaining set

walking speed in corridor
Figure 9.2. The 1 m exit door placed in the right side of the corridor
Add an Occupant
To add an occupant:
1. On the left toolbar, click Add an Occupant ( ).
2. Click point (0.5,1.0) to add the occupant.
Edit Occupant Profile

1. In the Model menu, click Edit Profiles.
2. In the Speed box, type 1.0 m/s.
3. Click OK.
Figure 9.3. An occupant positioned at the left end of the corridor

62

3. In the Behavior Mode select SFPE, Flow-based.
4. Click OK.
Run Simulation
2. Save your document. A suggested name is imo01
3. A summary report is provided in the analysis dialog. It provides "First In" and "Last Out" times
for each room and door. The "Total Use" column gives the maximum number of occupants
either in a room or in the door queue. This information will be saved in the summary.txt file.
View Results
When the simulation is finished, the 3D results viewer will be launched. To view results:
by a line.
3. On the Agents menu, click Show As Random People. This will display the occupant as a
person, Figure 9.4.
Figure 9.4. The 3D results view
63

Summary Data
This summary shows that the occupant exited the room in 40.03 seconds. The expected time is
40.0 seconds.
Detailed information for each room is provided in comma-separated value (csv) files that can
imported to a spreadsheet and in the display of the solution dialog.
64
Chapter 10. IMO Test 6, Rounding Corners

This example describes International Maritime Organization Test 6 [IMO, 2002]. Twenty persons approaching a left-hand corner (see Figure 10.1) will successfully navigate around the corner without penetrating the boundaries.
Figure 10.1. PyroSim model of the corridor
Create problem geometry in PathFinder

We will draw the corridor in PathFinder.
1. On the toolbar, click SI to select metric units.
2. On the View menu, click Edit Snap Grid.... Enter a grid spacing of 1.0 m and click OK.
3. On the toolbar, click
4. Click
to view the sketch plane in top (plan) view.
to open the Add a Rectangular Room tool.
5. Click and drag to draw the first part of the corridor 2 m wide and 12 m long, Figure 10.2.
6. Click and drag to draw the second part of the corridor 2 m wide and 10 m long, Figure 10.3.
65
IMO Test 6, Rounding Corners
Figure 10.2. The first part of the corridor
Figure 10.3. The second part of the corridor
To merge the two parts of the corridor into one room:

1. Click the Selection tool in the top toolbar.
2. Hold the CTRL key and click on both parts of the corridor.
3. Right-click and select Merge.
66
Add an Exit Door

To define an exit door
1. On the left toolbar, click
to add a door.
2. Click and drag across the top edge to define a door.

3. By default, since the door does not connect rooms, it will be an exit door.
Figure 10.4. The exit door
Add the Occupants

To add the occupants:
1. Click
to add occupants to a rectangular space.
2. Select uniform placement and the default profile.

3. In the Count box, enter 20.
4. Click and drag to define a 2 m by 4 m space into which the occupants will be added, Figure 10.5.
67
Figure 10.5. The occupants in the corridor
SFPE Simulation
We will first run the simulation using SFPE behavior. Be default, PathFinder uses a behavior
that is consistent with the SFPE assumptions. We will modify one of the options.
Modify SFPE Behavior

3. For the Behavior Mode select SFPE, Flow-based.
4. In the Door Boundary Layer box, enter 0 cm. This removes the boundary layer from the
flow calculation of the door.
5. Click OK.
Save the Model

To save the model:
1. On the File menu, click Save.
2. Save the model in a separate directory with the name imo6_sfpe.pth.
3. Click Save.
68
Run the Simulation

View SFPE Results

To view results
by a line, Figure 10.6.
Figure 10.6. Using animation to display the results
The SFPE simulation allows occupants to occupy the same space, so this is what happens in the
simulation.
imported to a spreadsheet and in the display of the solution dialog. The first occupant reached
the door at 13.8 s and the last occupant exited the room at 21.00 s.
Compare SFPE Calculation with Expected Result

According to SFPE guidelines, the egress time is calculated as the time it takes the first occupant
to move to the door, plus the time it takes the other occupants to move through the door.
The first occupant in the simulation is 16.47 meters from the exit door, and has a velocity of
1.19 meter/second. That equates to a time of 13.84 seconds to reach the door, which matches
the simulated results.
69

The waiting time for the other persons is the number of persons divided by the effective flow
rate times the effective door width. There are 19 persons waiting to use the door, SFPE specifies
an effective flow rate of 1.32 persons/meter*second for flow through a corridor, and since we
specified a boundary layer thickness of zero earlier in the problem, the effective door width is 2
meters. This equates to a total waiting time of 7.20 seconds
Total egress time sums to 21.04 seconds, matching the expected result of 21.00
Steering Simulation
To obtain more realistic results, we run the simulation in steering mode, that is the occupants
will occupy space and avoid each other an obstacles on the way to the exit.
Select Steering Behavior

3. For the Behavior Mode select Steering.
4. Ensure the Collision Handling and Inertia check boxes are selected.
5. Click OK.
Save the Model

To save the model:
2. Save the model with the name imo6_steering.pth.
3. Click Save.
Run the Simulation

View Steering Results

To view results:
by a line, Figure 10.7.
70
Figure 10.7. View of steering results
To change to a more realistic display:

1. On the Agents menu, click Show as Random People.... This will display the occupants as
people, Figure 10.8..
Figure 10.8. View of results as people
imported to a spreadsheet and in the display of the solution dialog.
71
Compare Steering Calculation with Expected Result

Steering mode provides an iterative solution, so no hand calculations exist for comparison. We
can however compare it to the SFPE model with the expectation that we achieve similar results.
The Steering model shows 14.28 seconds to the door compared to 13.84 in SFPE. Reactive steering gives a total exit time of 22.83 seconds against SFPE's 21.00. The results are qualitatively
similar.
Summary of Calculated Exit Times

Table 10.1. Summary of IMO 6 Exit Times
Behavior
SFPE
Expected
Actual
21.04 s
21.00 s
22.83 s
Steering
72
Chapter 11. Counterflow in Two Rooms Connected via a

Corridor
This example is based on International Maritime Organization Test 8 [IMO, 2002]. It is designed
to measure the effect of counterflow. Two 10 m long by 10 m wide rooms are connected by a
corridor which is 10 m long by 2 m wide. 100 occupants will start in room 1 and leave via an exit
in room 2. The walking speed of each occupant will be generated from a uniform distribution
where min=0.97 m/s and max=1.62 m/s. There are two steps:
1. Step 1: 100 occupants move from room 1 to the exit in room 2. The initial distribution is such
that the space of room 1 is filled from the left with 100 occupants.
2. Step 2: Step one is repeated with an additional 100 occupants in room 2 that will exit via room
1. These occupants should have identical characteristics to those in room 1. Both rooms move
off simultaneously and the time for the last occupants in room 1 to exit room 2 is recorded.
3. TO DO: Add descriptions of steering model and results.
Figure 11.1. The connected room geometry
The expected result is that the evacuation in step 2 will take longer than the evacuation in step 1.

1. On the toolbar, click SI to select metric units.
4. Click OK.
To draw the rooms and corridor:
3. Click and drag to draw room 1 from point (0,0) to (10,10). In the Name box, type Room
1.
73
Counterflow in Two Rooms

Connected via a Corridor
4. To make the corridor, click Add a Rectangular Room. Click and drag to draw the corridor
from point (10,4) to (20,6). In the Name box, type Corridor.
5. To add the second room, click Add a Rectangular Room. Click and drag to draw room 2
from point (20,0) to (30,10). In the Name box, type Room 2.
6. Note: You can double-click on the Add a Rectangular Room tool to make it "sticky" and
avoid the multiple clicks on the tool.
Figure 11.2. The two rooms connected by a corridor
Add Doors to the Corridor and Exits

To define doors between the rooms and corridors:
1. On the left toolbar, click Add a new Door ( ) Click and drag the first door from point
(10,6) to (10,4).
2. On the left toolbar, click Add a new Door. Click and drag the second door from point (20,6)
to (20,4).
3. On the left toolbar, click Add a new Door. Click and drag an exit door from point (0,6) to
(0,4). In the Name box, type Room 1 Exit.
4. On the left toolbar, click Add a new Door. Click and drag an exit door from point (30,6)
to (30,4). In the Name box, type Room 2 Exit.
74

Figure 11.3. After drawing the doors
Add Occupants
1. On the Model menu, click Edit Profiles....
2. Select the Default profile
3. In the Speed drop-down list, choose Uniform.
4. In the Uniform Distribution dialog, enter a Min of 0.97 m/s and a Max of 1.62 m/s.
5. Click OK to close the Uniform Distribution dialog.
6. Click OK to close the Edit Profiles dialog.
Add the Occupants

1. On the left toolbar, click Add Rectangular Group of Occupants ( )
2. In the Count box, type 100.
3. Click and drag to define a 4 m by 10 m space into which the occupants will be added from
point (0,10) to (4,0).
4. On the editor toolbar in the Exit list, select Room 2 Exit.
75


4. Click to check the Collision Handling option.
5. Click OK.
Run SFPE Simulation

2. Save your document as imo8_basecase.
3. A summary report is provided in the analysis dialog. It provides "FIRST IN" and "LAST
imo8_basecase_summary.txt file.
Summary Report
In the summary report, the last occupant exited Room 2 Exit at 69.95 seconds. TO DO: compare
to the SFPE calculation without collisions.
76

In addition to the summary report, detailed information for each room is provided in the comma-separated value (csv) files that can imported to a spreadsheet.
View 3D Results
by a line.
3. To change to a more realistic display, on the Agents menu, click Show as Random People.
This will display the occupants as people, Figure 11.5..
Figure 11.5. The results when using people
The 3D results viewer can also be opened by clicking View Results... on the Simulation menu.
On theFile menu, click Open Pathfinder Results File... and open the appropriate results file.
Run SFPE Simulation with Counterflow

Add Counterflow Occupants
3. Click and drag to define a 4 m by 10 m space into which the occupants will be added from
point (26,0) to (30,10).
4. On the editor toolbar in the Exit list, select Room 1 Exit.
77

Figure 11.6. Room 2 occupants
Save the Model

To save the model:
2. Save the model with the name imo8_counterflow.pth.
3. Click Save.
Run the Simulation

Summary Report
TO DO - Discuss results.
Run Steering Simulation with Counterflow

Pathfinder provides the options for different simulation modes. To select the Steering mode:
3. In the Behavior Mode select Steering.
4. Click OK.
Save the Model

To save the model:
78

2. Save the model with the name imo8_counterflow_steering.pth.
3. Click Save.
Run the Simulation

Summary Report
TO DO - discuss results
79
Chapter 12. IMO Test 9, Room with Four Exits

This example describes International Maritime Organization Test 9 [IMO, 2002]. There is a
public room with four exits and 1000 occupants uniformly distributed in the room. Occupants
leave via the nearest exits. The population has uniformly distributed walking speeds (Minimum
= 0.97 m/s, Mean = 1.3 m/s, and Maximum = 1.62 m/s).
The analyses are performed in two steps:
1. Step 1: Run simulation with 1000 occupants and only doors 1 and 2.
2. Step 2: Run simulation with 1000 occupants and all 4 doors available.
Figure 12.1. The room with exit doors

To create the geometry using Pathfinder:
1. On the top toolbar, click SI to select metric units.
4. Click OK.
7. Click and drag to draw the room from point (0,0) to (30,20).
80
IMO Test 9, Room with Four Exits
Figure 12.2. Drawing the room
Add Exit Doors

To add doors:
1. In the tools toolbar, click Add a new Door ( ).
2. Click and drag from point (4,20) to (5,20).
3. In the Name box, type Door 1.
4. Click and drag from point (25,20) to (26,20).
5. In the Name box, type Door 2.
We will add the two remaining doors later.
Figure 12.3. After drawing the doors
81
Add the Occupants

1. On the Model menu, click Edit Profiles....
2. Select the Default profile
3. In the Speed drop-down list, choose Uniform.
4. In the Uniform Distribution dialog, enter a Min of 0.97 m/s and a Max of 1.62 m/s.
5. Click OK to close the Uniform Distribution dialog.
6. Click OK to close the Edit Profiles dialog.
Add the Occupants

2. In the editor panel, click Uniform placement option.
4. Click and drag to define an occupant group that is 2 m from the walls from point (2,2) to
(28,18).

82

4. Click OK.
Run SFPE Simulation

2. Save your document as imo9_sfpe.
Summary Report
imo9_basecase_summary.txt file.
The last occupant exited the room at 542 seconds. This compares to the expected SFPE value
of 541 seconds.
View 3D Results
by a line.
3. To change to a more realistic display, on the Agents menu, click Show as Random People.
This will display the occupants as people, Figure 12.5..
83
Figure 12.5. The results for SFPE mode with 2 exit doors
Run SFPE Simulation with Collision Avoidance

We will now add collision avoidance to the SFPE simulation. TO DO: A few more words to
clarify.
2. Click on the Behavior tab. In the Behavior Mode select SFPE, Flow-based. Click Collision
Handling. Click OK to close the dialog.
3. On the File menu, click Save As. Save the model with the name imo9_sfpe_collision.
Click Save.
Summary Report
The last occupant exited the room at 542 seconds, the same value as without collisions. This
means that the flow through the door was the governing factor in the analysis.
View 3D Results
The 3D results viewer will be opened at the end of an analysis. In this mode, persons must occupy
individual space, so the results appear more realistic than the basic SFPE simulation.
84
Figure 12.6. The results for SFPE behavior with 2 exit doors

We will now use the steering simulation mode. TO DO: A few more words to clarify.
2. Click on the Behavior tab. In the Behavior Mode select Steering. Click OK to close the
dialog.
3. On the File menu, click Save. Save the model with the name imo9_steering. Click Save.
Summary Report
The last occupant exited the room at 332 seconds (5 minute, 32 seconds). TO DO - Compare
with expected SFPE solution.
View 3D Results
85
Figure 12.7. The results for steering behavior with 2 exit doors
Add Additional Doors

For the second step of this simulation, two additional doors are added to compare the time it
takes for occupants to exit a room with 4 doors versus 2 doors.
1. Select the Top View. In the tools toolbar, click Add a new Door.
2. Click and drag from point (4,0) to (5,0). In the Name box, type Door 3.
3. Click and drag from point (25,0) to (26,0). In the Name box, type Door 4.
Run SFPE Analysis with Four Exits and Collision Behavior

For the analysis with four exits, let us again use the SFPE mode with collision avoidance.
2. Click on the Behavior tab. In the Behavior Mode select SFPE, Flow-based. Click Collision
Handling. Click OK to close the dialog.
3. On the File menu, click Save. Save
imo9_sfpe_collision_4exits. Click Save.
the
model
with
the
name
Summary Report
The last occupant exited the room at 280 seconds. The expected SFPE time is 270 seconds. If
you observe the results, the difference is because of the random distribution of occupants. As a
86

result, not all doors have exactly the same load and the exit time is increased for the doors with
more occupants.
View 3D Results
Figure 12.8. The results for steering behavior with 2 exit doors
87
Chapter 13. IMO Test 10, Exit Route Allocation

This example describes International Maritime Organization Test 10, consisting of a cabin corridor with two exits. 23 persons are distributed over the 12 cabins and leave via their allocated
exits. It is written in a somewhat abbreviated form, assuming that you have already created the
previous examples to learn how the tools function.
Figure 13.1. The room with exit doors
Create Geometry
First, we will need to create the room geometry. Click the top view button ( ) from the view
controls toolbar.
Begin by creating 6 rectangular areas 3 meters by 5 meters in the space from (0, 0) to (18, 5).
Select the Add Rectangular Geometry tool ( ) and either click-drag out the areas or enter
coordinates with the property panel directly above the main view. It may help to enable "sticky"
mode by double clicking the tool. This will make the tool persist until ESC is pressed.
Figure 13.2. First Six Cabins
88
IMO Test 10, Exit Route Allocation

Next, create the main hallway by making another rectangular area from (0, 5) to (18, 5.9). To
do this, type the coordinate values into the corresponding textboxes, Figure 13.3. Make another
rectangular area from (6, 5.9) to (7.2, 10.9). Merge the two by selecting both and selecting Merge
from either the Model menu or the right-click menu, Figure 13.4.
Figure 13.3. Cabins with Hallway Added
Finally, complete the floor geometry by creating the last 6 cabins. Type the following coordinate
values into the corresponding textboxes:
1. From (0.0, 5.9) to (3,0, 10.9).
2. From (3.0, 5.9) to (6,0, 10.9).
3. From (7.2, 5.9) to (9,0, 10.9).
4. From (9.0, 5.9) to (12,0, 10.9).
89

5. From (12.0, 5.9) to (15,0, 10.9).
6. From (15.0, 5.9) to (18,0, 10.9).
Figure 13.5. All Cabins Placed
Add an interior door from each of the cabins to the hallway with the Add Door tool ( ). The
test specifies that each door be 0.9 meters wide and centered along its respective cabin's wall. In
addition, add two exterior doors along the width of the top and right edges of the hallway. To
do this, first set the Max Width of the door to 90 cm. Then, approximately position each door
between the cabin and the hallway, Figure 13.6. type the following coordinate values into the
corresponding textboxes:
Now we precisely set the coordinates of each door. Using the Selection tool, select the left handle
for each door and type the appropriate X values (1.05, 4.05, 7.05, 10.05,13.05, 16.05). Click
Commit to change the value. For the special small cabin, the coordinate is 7.65.
90

In addition, add two exterior doors along the width of the top and right edges of the hallway.
Name the top door "Main Exit" and the right door "Secondary Exit".
Figure 13.7. Cabin Geometry Completed
Add Occupants and Assign to Exits

Right-click on each cabin and add 1 person to the smaller cabin and 2 persons to each remaining
cabin with the Add Occupant tool ( ). Select all occupants except the 8 persons in the top,
right rooms and use the Exit pulldown to select the "Main Exit" as their egress point. Secondary
Exit" as their egress point, Figure 13.8. Select the rest of the persons and select the "Secondary
Exit" as their egress point.
Figure 13.8. Changing the exits for the occupants
Run SFPE Simulation

Select the SFPE behavior. Save your document as imo10_sfpe and run the simulation.
91

The last occupant exits at 22 seconds, controlled by the maximum flow through the Main Exit.

We will now use the steering simulation mode. Save your document as imo10_steering and
run the simulation.
The last occupant exits at 20 seconds.
Figure 13.9. The results for steering behavior
92
Chapter 14. IMO Test 11, Staircase

This example describes International Maritime Organization Test 11: a room connected to a stair
via a corridor. 150 people start in the room, with walking speeds evenly distributed from 0.97
to 1.62 meters per second. The expected result is the formation of congestion leading into the
hallway and at the base of the stairs. This example is written in a somewhat abbreviated form,
assuming that you have already created the previous examples to learn how the tools function.
Figure 14.1. Room with corridor and stairs
Create Geometry
First, we will need to create the room geometry. Click the top view button ( ) from the view
controls toolbar.
Begin by creating a rectangular area 8 meters by 5 meters in the space from (-3, 0) to (5, 5).
Create the hallway with another rectangular area (0, 5) to (2, 17). Merge the two by selecting
both and selecting Merge from either the model or right-click menu.
Create Stairs
To create the stairs, begin by creating a second floor. Add a new floor from the floor drop down
menu. From the resulting dialog, input 2 meters and select OK to create the new floor. Create a
rectangular area from (0, 22) to (2, 24) for the stairs's upper landing.
From the right-click menu, select "Show All Floors"
93
IMO Test 11, Staircase
Figure 14.2. Floor Geometry
To place the stairs, select the two point stair tool ( ). click-drag from one corner of the bottom
landing to the other to define the stairs width. Click the edge of the top landing to finish defining
the stair.
Figure 14.3. Placing Stair
To finish the geometry create the exit door by selecting the door tool ( ) and click-dragging
across the edge of the top landing opposite the stair.
Create Population
The room will contain 150 persons, as described in the introduction to this example. To define
a shared profile for all 150, select Edit Profiles... off the model menu. Since we only have need
for one distinct profile, we will modify the default profile. For the "Speed" select "Uniform" and
enter 0.97 and 1.62 for the minimum and maximum speeds, respectively.
94
Figure 14.4. Defining Profile
Select OK to save changes and exit the Edit Profiles dialog.

To place the occupants, click the Add Rectangular Group of Occupants ( ) tool. Select Uniform placement, the Default profile, and 150 occupants by count. Click drag two opposite corners of the main room to drop the occupants.
Figure 14.5. Occupants placed in room
Run SFPE Simulation and View Results

Open the Simulation Parameters Dialog from the Simulation menu. On the Behavior tab,
select SFPE, Flow Based. Click OK to exit the Simulation Parameters Dialog.
Run the simulation. As stated above, the expected result is formation of congestion at the entrance
to the hallway and at the base of the stairs. Click the Results button to view the results of the
simulation.
95
Figure 14.6. Results for SFPE simulation
The total time to evacuate the room is calculated to be 196 seconds. Queues form at the bottom
of the stairs and briefly at the top of the stairs. Also notice that because of the density in the initial
room, the first occupant required about 93 seconds to travel just a few feet to the door. This is
an artifact of the SFPE density-based velocity calculation.
Run SFPE Simulation with Collision Handling

Open the Simulation Parameters Dialog from the Simulation menu. On the Behavior tab,
select SFPE, and check the Collision Handling box. This option will modify the standard SFPE
Mode to better visualize congestion by disallowing persons from occupying the same space.
Click OK to exit the Simulation Parameters Dialog.
simulation.
Figure 14.7. Results for SFPE simulation with collision handling
96

The total time to evacuate the room is calculated to be 208 seconds. Because of collision handling,
queues form at the exit of the room, at the bottom of the stairs and briefly at the top of the stairs.
This simulation used the SFPE veclocity calculation and incurred the long wait beore the first
occupant exited the initial room - just like the first simulation run.
Run Simulation using Steering Mode

Open the Simulation Parameters Dialog from the Simulation menu. On the Behavior tab, select Steering. In this option, each occupant steers toward the exits, with no additional constraints.
Click OK to exit the Simulation Parameters Dialog.
simulation.
Figure 14.8. Results for SFPE simulation with collision handling
The total time to evacuate the room is calculated to be 68 seconds. Since the steering mode didn't
rely on a density-based velocity calculation, occupants in front were able to move freely out of
the room and down the hall. This difference almost entirely eliminated the somewhat artificial
93 second initial delay and also subsequent delays near the front of the crowd in the initial room.
It's possible to compare the SFPE and steering mode calculations without the initial delay by
increasing the area of the initial room - preventing the initial room from being density bound
and relying on the doors and subsequent rooms to control the occupant flow. Doing so gives a
solution of about 92 seconds for the SFPE simulation modes.
97
References
[IMO, 2002] Interim Guidelines for Evacuation Analyses for New and Existiing Passenger Ships. June 6,
2002. International Maritime Organization. 4 Albert Embankment London Great Britain . MSC/
Circ.1033.
[SFPE, 2003] Engineering Guide - Human Behavior in Fire. June, 2003. Society of Fire Protection Engineers. 7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 620E Bethesda Maryland USA 1-301-718-2910 .
98

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SFPE and Steering Modes

Chapter 2. Room with Hallway

Figure 2.1. Model dimensions

Room with Hallway

Figure 2.2. Room with a hallway

Add Exit Door

Figure 2.3. Completed geometry

to add occupants to a rectangular space.

2. In the Count box, enter 16.

Room with Hallway

Figure 2.4. Placing the occupants in the room

Run SFPE Simulation

Room with Hallway

Figure 2.5. The results for SFPE mode

Run the Simulation Using Steering

Room with Hallway

Figure 2.6. The results for SFPE mode

Chapter 3. Stairwell Example

Create Floor Geometry

Figure 3.1. Geometry of Ground Floor

Figure 3.2. Basic Geometry of All Floors

to use the two-point stair tool.

Figure 3.3. Adding the stairs in the top view

Figure 3.4. First Flight of Stairs

Figure 3.5. Completed Flight of Stairs

Figure 3.6. Doors added to the model

Figure 3.7. Completed Model

Run the Simulation

Figure 3.8. simulation results for Steering mode

Run SFPE Simulation

Figure 3.9. The results for SFPE mode

Chapter 4. Sketching on Background Image Example

Figure 4.1. Image of the office geometry

Import Background Image

Sketching on Background Image Example

Figure 4.2. Define the Anchor Point on the background image

Figure 4.3. Define points A and B

Sketch the Rooms

Sketching on Background Image Example

Figure 4.4. Sketch of first office

Sketching on Background Image Example

Figure 4.5. Sketch of second office

Figure 4.6. Preparing to copy second office

Sketching on Background Image Example

Figure 4.7. After making copies of the second office

Figure 4.8. After making copies of the second office

Sketching on Background Image Example

Figure 4.9. Merging separate sketches to make one room

Sketching on Background Image Example

Figure 4.11. Adding a door to the model

Figure 4.12. Adding a door to the model

Sketching on Background Image Example

Figure 4.13. Adding individual occupants to the model

Figure 4.14. Adding occupants by room

Run Steering Simulation

Sketching on Background Image Example

Chapter 5. Extracting Rooms from a 2D DXF

Figure 5.1. DXF of the Thunderhead Engineering office

Import DXF File

Prepare the DXF Data for Room Extraction

Extracting Rooms from a 2D DXF