Author(s): M. Gomez; F. Macchione; B. Russo
Linked Author(s): Beniamino Russo, Maria Esther Gomez-Martin, Francesco Macchione
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Urban floods are sudden phenomena normally characterized by short flooding durations and devastating effects due to the high concentration of subjects, goods and properties located in urban areas. In these cases of flooding heavy and medium storms events (some times because of inadequate surface drainage systems) generate big uncontrolled amounts of surface runoff that circulate on the urban streets determining a significant hazard for the pedestrian and vehicular circulation. With the aim of studying the stability of the pedestrians in urban areas during storm events, a model representing an urban street in a 1: 1 scale, was designed and built. According to the laboratory capabilities a specific testing protocol was established. Specifically tests were carried out for different circulating flows (from 100 l/s to 500l/s) and different longitudinal slopes (up to 10% ). Finally 834 tests regarding 23 human subjects were carried out considering different light conditions too. Hazard conditions were classified into three groups: low, medium and high and parameters at which these conditions occurred were recorded. The obtained results showed that for a human subject with a weight between 50 and 60 Kg, few centimeters of flow with a velocity of 1. 5-2 m/s can generate a loss of stability due to phenomena of dragging or overturning. Specific values have been defined for the classification of the hazard levels. Moreover an empirical expression has been proposed to relate human subject characteristics (weight and height) and limit flow conditions at which loss of stability is supposed.
Year: 2010