Simulation of a pedestrian counterflow (red and blue particles, with green arrows representing instant speed) restricted within a corridor (gray limit), under conditions of weak social distancing. Credit: Gerald J. Wang
Applying a “one-size-fits-all” policy suggestion to a complex public sphere.
Along with making use of face masks, social distancing in public stays among the most practiced front-line defenses versus the spread of COVID-19 However, streams of pedestrians, consisting of those practicing the 6-foot guideline for distancing, are vibrant and identified by subtleties not constantly thoroughly thought about in the context of daily, public areas.
In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, scientists from Carnegie Mellon University take a look at the characteristics of social distancing practices through the lens of particle-based circulation simulations. The research study designs social range as the range at which particles, representing pedestrians, fend off fellow particles.
“Even at modest pedestrian density levels, a strong preference for 6 feet of social distance can cause large-scale pedestrian ‘traffic jams’ that take a long time to clear up,” stated Gerald J. Wang, of Carnegie MellonUniversity “This is pretty evident to all of us who have engaged in that ‘awkward dance of social distance’ in a grocery store aisle during the past 18 months, but it has important implications for how we set occupancy thresholds as workplaces, campuses, and entertainment venues return to pre-pandemic densities.”
Motivated by the pandemic, the scientists clarified the relationship in between social distancing and pedestrian circulation characteristics in passages by showing how adherence to social distancing procedures impacts two-way pedestrian motion in a shared area. The results contribute to a considerable body of current work around the impacts of numerous elements on pedestrian counterflows and concentrates on the characterization of jamming phenomena in fairly narrow passages, a subject of present interest.
“Dense pedestrian flows plus social distancing recommendations is a recipe for a lot of frustration,” statedWang “I mean this both in the physics sense of the word ‘frustration,’ with low particle mobilities because a bunch of ‘stuff’ is seemingly in their way, and in the everyday sense of the word ‘frustration,’ with people feeling flustered because, well, a bunch of ‘stuff’ is seemingly in their way!”
Wang kept in mind public health messaging must be lined up with practical, possible habits, including that “strict adherence to social distancing — a la ‘the 6-foot rule’ — is simply not a practical recommendation in pedestrian flows at densities that are typical of large, shared venues.”
Though conceptually simple to absorb, the findings highlight the issues of using a “one-size-fits-all” policy suggestion to a public sphere identified by nuanced pedestrian circulation characteristics.
“Particle-based flow simulation, powered by high-performance computing, has enormous potential to rapidly explore a broad range of pedestrian flow problems, both during the pandemic and beyond,” stated co-author Kelby B. Kramer.
Reference: “Social distancing slows down steady dynamics in pedestrian flows” by Kelby B. Kramer and Gerald J. Wang, 19 October 2021, Physics of Fluids
DOI: 10.1063/ 5.0062331
