An Experimental Validation of an Evacuation Model using Data Sets Generated from Two Large Passenger Ships

Two evacuation model validation data-sets collected as part of the EU FP7 project SAFEGUARD are presented. The data was collected from a RO-PAX ferry operated by ColorLine (RP1) and a cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean (CS). The trials were semi-unannounced assembly trials at sea and involved some 1349 and 2500 passengers respectively. The trials took place at an unspecified time however, passengers were aware that on their voyage an assembly exercise would take place. The validation data-sets consist of passenger; response times, starting locations, end locations and arrival times in the assembly stations. The validation data were collected using a novel data acquisition system consisting of ship-mounted beacons, each emitting unique Infra-Red (IR) signals and IR data logging tags worn by each passenger. The results from blind simulations using maritimeEXODUS for these assembly trials are presented and compared with the measured data. Three objective measures are proposed to assess the goodness of fit between the predicted model data and the measured data.