139 research outputs found
An empirical test for cellular automaton models of traffic flow
Based on a detailed microscopic test scenario motivated by recent empirical
studies of single-vehicle data, several cellular automaton models for traffic
flow are compared. We find three levels of agreement with the empirical data:
1) models that do not reproduce even qualitatively the most important empirical
observations,
2) models that are on a macroscopic level in reasonable agreement with the
empirics, and 3) models that reproduce the empirical data on a microscopic
level as well.
Our results are not only relevant for applications, but also shed new light
on the relevant interactions in traffic flow.Comment: 28 pages, 36 figures, accepted for publication in PR
A network traffic flow model for motorway and urban highways
The research reported in this paper develops a network level traffic flow model (NTFM) which is applicable for both motorway and urban roads. It forecasts the traffic flow rates, queue propagation at the junctions and travel delays through the network. NTFM uses sub-models associated with all road and junction types which comprise the highway. The flow at any one part of the network is obviously very dependent upon the flows at all other parts of the network. To predict the two-way traffic flow in NTFM, an iterative simulation method is executed to generate the evolution of dependent traffic flows and queues. To demonstrate the capability of the model it is applied to a small case study network and a local Loughborough-Nottingham highway network. The results indicate that NTFM is capable of identifying the relationship between traffic flows and capturing traffic phenomena such as queue dynamics. By introducing a reduced flow rate on links of the network then the effects of strategies employed to carry out roadworks can be mimicked
Optimizing Traffic Lights in a Cellular Automaton Model for City Traffic
We study the impact of global traffic light control strategies in a recently
proposed cellular automaton model for vehicular traffic in city networks. The
model combines basic ideas of the Biham-Middleton-Levine model for city traffic
and the Nagel-Schreckenberg model for highway traffic. The city network has a
simple square lattice geometry. All streets and intersections are treated
equally, i.e., there are no dominant streets. Starting from a simple
synchronized strategy we show that the capacity of the network strongly depends
on the cycle times of the traffic lights. Moreover we point out that the
optimal time periods are determined by the geometric characteristics of the
network, i.e., the distance between the intersections. In the case of
synchronized traffic lights the derivation of the optimal cycle times in the
network can be reduced to a simpler problem, the flow optimization of a single
street with one traffic light operating as a bottleneck. In order to obtain an
enhanced throughput in the model improved global strategies are tested, e.g.,
green wave and random switching strategies, which lead to surprising results.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure
Cellular automata approach to three-phase traffic theory
The cellular automata (CA) approach to traffic modeling is extended to allow
for spatially homogeneous steady state solutions that cover a two dimensional
region in the flow-density plane. Hence these models fulfill a basic postulate
of a three-phase traffic theory proposed by Kerner. This is achieved by a
synchronization distance, within which a vehicle always tries to adjust its
speed to the one of the vehicle in front. In the CA models presented, the
modelling of the free and safe speeds, the slow-to-start rules as well as some
contributions to noise are based on the ideas of the Nagel-Schreckenberg type
modelling. It is shown that the proposed CA models can be very transparent and
still reproduce the two main types of congested patterns (the general pattern
and the synchronized flow pattern) as well as their dependence on the flows
near an on-ramp, in qualitative agreement with the recently developed continuum
version of the three-phase traffic theory [B. S. Kerner and S. L. Klenov. 2002.
J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 35, L31]. These features are qualitatively different
than in previously considered CA traffic models. The probability of the
breakdown phenomenon (i.e., of the phase transition from free flow to
synchronized flow) as function of the flow rate to the on-ramp and of the flow
rate on the road upstream of the on-ramp is investigated. The capacity drops at
the on-ramp which occur due to the formation of different congested patterns
are calculated.Comment: 55 pages, 24 figure
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