Optimizing safe evacuation using pathfinder: emergency strategies in high-rise and super high-rise complex buildings in the new administrative capital

Figures & data

Table 1. High-rise/super high-rise building classification.

Organization/Code	Height	Building type
		High-rise	Super high-rise	Mega/ultra high-rise
Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) [10]	More 14 stories/50 meters	*
	More 300 meters		*
	More 600 meters			*
Emporis Standards [11,12]	More 12 stories/35 meters	*
	More 100 meters		*
International Building Code (IBC) [13]	More 75 feet (23 meters)	*
	Above 450 feet (137 meters)		*
China code [14]	More 70 meters	*
	More 140 meters		*
	More 300 meters			*
Malaysia code [15]	More 24 stories/84 meters	*
	More 40 stories/140 meters		*
Singapore code [16]	More 16 stories/56 meters	*
	More 30 stories/105 meters		*
Average height		Up to 125M	More 125M	More 450M

Table 2. Description of emergency evacuation scenarios.

Scenario	Egress components	Evacuation strategy
Total building evacuation [20]	Staircases.	It requires occupants to evacuate to the staircases leading to the ground floor.
Self-evacuation [21]	Staircases, Elevators.	This strategy involves the use of available means of evacuation, such as elevators and stairs, where elevators are used to shuttle occupants from the higher floors to the exit level and return for another load.
Progressive evacuation [22]	Staircases, Elevators, Refuge.	It allows occupants to initially relocate to a refuge area using stairs, from which they can then be evacuated to a place of ultimate safety using stairs and/or elevators.
Phased Evacuation [23]	Staircases	This strategy involves evacuating the most critical floors first, such as the fire floor and nearby floors.
Partial evacuation [24]	Staircases, Horizontal exits.	This strategy includes the immediate evacuation of specific areas of a building closest to a fire incident.

Table 3. Comparison of refuge floor location among countries.

Country	Configuration
Korea	Range of refuge floor every 30 floors applied for 50-story (200m) or more
Hong Kong	Range of refuge floor between every 10–14 floor depends on its height (45 m)
Singapore	Range of every 20 floors applied for 40-story or more depend on its floor-to-floor height
India	Every 15 floor depends. Applied at 24-story or more
Indonesia	Every 16-floor interval with the application for 24- story or more

Figure 1. Research methodology.

Table 4. Description of the buildings.

Building 1: C1
Building 2: C2		Building 3: C3
Description of buildings
			C1	C2		C3
Height
Total height			49.25 m	95 m		160 m
Ground floor height			6 m	6 m		6 m
Typical floor height			3.6 m	3.7 m		3.6 m
Area
Total plot area			36723.75 m2	51953.88 m2		46418.4 m2
Gross ground floor area			2448.25 m2	5666.16 m2		2587.5 m2
Net ground occupant area			1713.7 m2	3966.3 m2		1811.25 m2
Typical floor area			2289.25 m2	1766.16 m2		1001.9 m2
Net typical occupant area			1825.28 m2	1413.4 m2		750 m2
Building shape			L (shape)	V (shape)		Square (shape)
Number of floors
Number of commercial floors			2	2		3
Number of business floors			13	22		36
Number of refuge floors			None	None		1
Total number of floors			15	24		41
Number of emergency staircases in commercial floors			6	4		4
Number of emergency staircases in business floors			6	2		2
Number of firefighting elevators			None	1		2
Number of exits in ground floor			4	7		9
Total width of exits doors			6 m	11 m		15.4 m

Table 5. The architectural requirements of the Egyptian code for protecting buildings from fire and international codes.

Code req	G	T.C	T. B	C1			C2			C3
				G	T.C	T. B	G	T.C	T. B	G	T.C	T. B
Travel distance	60	60	45	48	43	31	42	40	37	44	42	23
Dead end	6	6	12	None			None			None
Indoor corridors width	6	6	1.65	6	6	1.88	6	6	1.85	6	6	1.90
Emergency stairs width	110 cm			130 cm			130 cm			140 cm
Building exits/floor exits	3	3	2	4	4	2	7	5	2	9	3	2
Emergency Stair doors width	90 cm			1 m			1 m			1 m
Spaces doors width	90 cm			Average 1 m			Average 1 m			Average 1 m

Where, G = Ground floor, T.C= Typical commercial, and T.B = Typical business.

Table 6. The constraints and determinants of the study.

Constraints and determinants	Assumptions/values
Waking speed for occupants	1.19 m/s
Occupant load
Commercial occupant load (ground floor/typical floor)	2.79 m2/person/5.57 m2/person
Business occupant load (typical floor)	9.29 m2/person
Disable people	Not included
Pre-evacuation time	10 min/in case of using refuge
Occupants’ placement	In function
Using assisted mobility	Not available
Gender type	Not specified
Elevators speed	3.00 m/s
Elevators capacity	20 persons
Occupant load in refuge area	0.28 m2/person
Occupant percentage in refuge area	25% from floors above
Stair flight width	1300 mm

Figure 2. The change of the type of the staircases (No:1, No:2, and No:6) in the typical floor for scenarios (1), and (2).

Figure 3. The evacuation assumptions for building (2), scenarios (3), and (4).

Figure 4. The evacuation assumptions for building (3), scenarios (5), (6), and (7).

Figure 5. (a, b). The total evacuation time for scenario 1 and 2.

Table 7. The occupants’ behavior for scenario 1, and 2.

Scenario	No. of occupants	1^st Occ. (T)	Evacuation time (Tmove)	Average stairs traffic jams	Travel distance (1^st)	Travel distance (last)
1	2630	10.95s	995s	97.16s	12.52 m	296.81 m
2			760s	69.64s		261.3 m

Figure 6. The density(occs/m2) for emergency stairs in scenario 1.

Figure 7. The density (Occs/m2) for emergency stairs in scenario 2.

Figure 8. (a, b). The total evacuation time for scenario (3), and (4).

Table 8. The occupants’ behavior for the for scenario (3), and (4).

Scenario	No. of occupants	1^st Occ. (T)	Evacuation time (Tmove)	Average stairs traffic jams	Travel distance (1^st)	Travel distance (last)
3	4978	3.9s	1908.6s	172.74s	3.20 m	544.42 m
4			2152s	46.64s		395.2 m

Figure 9. The density (Occs/m2) for emergency stairs in scenario 3.

Figure 10. The density (Occs/m2) for emergency stairs in scenario 4.

Figure 11. (a,b, and c) The total evacuation time for scenario (5), (6), and (7).

Table 9. The occupants’ behavior for scenario (5), (6), and (7).

Scenario	No. of occupants	1^st Occ. (T)	Evacuation time (Tmove)	Average stairs traffic jams	Travel distance (1^st)	Travel distance (last)
5	4126	2.45	1658s	55.14s	2.209 m	645.661 m
6			2524.28s	12.07s		582.98 m
7			2358.75s	40.3s		635.98 m

Figure 12. The density (Occs/m2) for emergency stairs in scenario 5.

Figure 13. The density (Occs/m2) for emergency stairs in scenario 6.

Figure 14. The density (Occs/m2) for refuge areas in scenario 7.

Figure 15. Two refuge area on level (+91.8, the 24^th floor).

Figure 16. The required safe evacuation time (R_SET) for the seven scenarios.

Figure 17. The average stairs traffic jams for the seven scenarios.

Figure 18. The simulation process by using elevators in scenario (4).

Table 10. The (T_move) for the commercial floors in the three buildings.

Building/Scenario		(Tmove) for the commercial	(Tmove) Total	Percentage (Commercial/Total) %
Building 1 (C1)	Scenario (1)	140	995	14%
	Scenario (2)		760	18.4%
Building 2 (C2)	Scenario (3)	259	1908.6	13.5%
	Scenario (4)		2152	12%
Building 3 (C3)	Scenario (5)	318	1658	19.1%
	Scenario (6)		2524.28	12.6%
	Scenario (7)		2358.75	13.4%
Average percentage (Commercial/Total)				14.7%

Table 11. The requirements for refuge areas.

The requirements	Reasons/benefits for use
setting strategically location: positioned near stairwells or other designated evacuation routes depending on the building design and shape [28].	To ensure accessibility for all occupants.
Providing reliable communication systems: equipped with a two-way voice communication system between the area and the Fire Command Center such as emergency phones, intercom systems, or two-way radios [45].	To allow occupants to communicate with emergency personnel or building management.
Proper ventilation systems: equipped with open sides above safe parapet height on at least two opposite sides to ensure adequate cross ventilation [46].	To maintain a constant supply of fresh air, especially during a fire when smoke and toxic gases can rapidly accumulate.
Accessibility: This involves incorporating features such as wheelchair ramps, handrails, and accessible facilities within the refuge area.	To be accessible to all occupants, including those with disabilities or mobility challenges.
Providing Fire Safety Measures: installed fire service equipment such as: fire extinguishers, fire alarms, and fire suppression systems (automatic sprinkler systems) [45].	To keep occupants’ safe.
Providing sufficient lighting: it should be a combination of natural and artificial light and should be backed up by an emergency lighting system [47].	To ensure that occupants can see and navigate the refuge area during an emergency.

Table 12. The requirements for the elevators.

The technical requirements	Reasons/benefits for use
Setting positive pressure ventilation in the elevator car: this system can be effective, because the volume of the elevator car is small. Therefore, the air flux required is smaller, and thus a small-sized fan can meet the requirement [48].	To prevent smoke transmission in the elevator car.
Setting air curtain preventing smoke in front of the elevator door: This smoke-preventing mechanism effectively blocks smoke intrusion through the elevator door [49].	To provide sufficient positive pressure.
Setting positive pressure ventilation in the elevator shaft: According to the International Building Code (IBC) and the Florida Building Code (FBC), elevator hoist ways shall be pressurized to maintain a minimum positive pressure of 0.10 inch of water (25 Pa) and a maximum positive pressure [50].	To pressurize the elevator and stairwell shafts so that only positive across-door pressures are achieved on all.
Implementing emergency power supply for elevators: This setup enables automatic switching between the power sources, guaranteeing a continuous and reliable power supply for the elevators [51].	To ensure uninterrupted elevator operation during a fire, the power supply system of elevators should use double circuits power sourced from two separate substations or power plants.

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