Simulating Evacuation on Inclined Offshore Platforms with an Improved Social Force Model

Offshore platforms are particularly vulnerable to inclination or capsizing during extreme weather conditions, such as strong winds, high waves, and powerful currents. These scenarios pose significant risks to offshore employees, making efficient evacuation strategies crucial. This study investigates evacuation processes on inclined offshore platforms, considering heel angles from 0° to 20° and trim angles from −20° to 20°, focusing on how platform inclination affects evacuation speed and overall evacuation time. To improve simulation accuracy, an Improved Social Force Model is proposed, incorporating both inclination-induced forces and attraction forces to better represent evacuation dynamics on inclined platforms. Simulation results indicate that evacuation time increases significantly when inclination angles exceed 15°, with longitudinal forces having a greater impact on stairway evacuations compared to heel forces. The findings offer valuable guidance for improving evacuation protocols on inclined offshore platforms.