Some studies on safe maximum packing of live agents in crowds or containers

Abstract

We study the geometrical and physical conditions for maximizing the safe packing of live agents in crowds or in containers, like wagons or subways. In order to accommodate small children in interstitial spaces among adults, we first approximate standing-up people, as observed from above, as circles or ellipses. According to our results, in very crowded conditions babies are better protected only among ``athletic'' adults (in the sense that their shoulder-shoulder lateral distance is sufficiently larger than their lateral waist) by positioning them on the adults flank at kidney level. In several adults we applied sustained pectoral or thoracic pressure in order to find the applied force dependence of the chest compression, and the maximum chest compression before not being able to breathe. For every five people barely fitting in a container, we can barely accommodate one more person, due to the chest compression of all persons. Practical recommendations are given in very crowded situations.