An experimental study on individual walking speed considering the effects of ship motion amplitude and motion period

Walking speed is an important parameter for assessing the evacuation capability of individuals in emergency situations on ships. The effects of ship motion amplitudes and periods can significantly reduce individual walking speed. In this study, a series of walking speed experiments were conducted using a six-degrees-of-freedom ship motion platform under various motion conditions. The effects of roll and pitch amplitudes (0°, 2.5°, 5°, 7.5°, 10°, 12.5°, and 15°) and motion periods (15s, 20s, 25s) on individual walking speed were analyzed. The results showed that as the ship’s motion amplitude increased and the motion period decreased, the individual walking speed exhibited a nonlinear decline, with a significant decrease in walking speed when the motion amplitude exceeded 7.5°. The influence of ship motion on walking speed was found to be much greater than the impact of static inclination. A regression analysis model was developed based on nonlinear least squares, considering the ship’s motion amplitude, motion period, gender, age, and height. The results indicated that the effect of motion amplitude on walking speed was more significant than that of motion period, with gender also having an important influence on walking speed. These findings provide valuable data to support the evaluation of evacuation capabilities and the development of evacuation models under ship motion conditions.