A modification of the Social Force Model can reproduce experimental data of pedestrian flows in normal conditions

The Social Force Model presents some limitations when describing the experimental data of pedestrian flows in normal conditions - in particular the specific flow rates for different door widths and the fundamental diagram. In the present work we propose a modification of this model that consists of a self-stopping mechanism to prevent a simulated pedestrian from continuously pushing over other pedestrians. With this simple change, the modified model is able to reproduce the specific flow rates and fundamental diagram of pedestrian flows for normal conditions, as reported in the literature. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.