Impact of the Next-Nearest-Neighbor Interaction on Traffic Flow of Highway with Slopes

In this paper,we study the motion course of traffic flow on the slopes of a highway by applying a microscopic traffic model,which takes into account the next-nearest-neighbor interaction in an intelligent transportation system environment.Three common gradients of the highway,which are sag terrain,uphill terrain,and downhill terrain on a single-lane roadway,are selected to clarify the impact on the traffic flow by the next-nearest-neighbor interaction in relative velocity.We obtain the current-density relation for traffic flow on the sag,the uphill and the downhill under the next-nearest-neighbor interaction strategy.It is observed that the current saturates when the density is greater than a critical value and the current decreases when the density is greater than another critical value.When the density falls into the intermediate range between the two critical densities it is also found that the oscillatory jam,easily leads to traffic accidents,often appears in the downhill stage,and the next-nearest-neighbor interaction in relative velocity has a strong suppressing effect on this kind of dangerous congestion.A theoretical analysis is also presented to explain this important conclusion.     

Analyses of Lattice Traffic Flow Model on a Gradient Highway

The optimal current difference lattice hydrodynamic model is extended to investigate the traffic flow dynamics on a unidirectional single lane gradient highway. The effect of slope on uphill/downhill highway is examined through linear stability analysis and shown that the slope significantly affects the stability region on the phase diagram.Using nonlinear stability analysis, the Burgers, Korteweg-deVries(KdV) and modified Korteweg-deVries(mKdV) equations are derived in stable, metastable and unstable region, respectively. The effect of reaction coefficient is examined and concluded that it plays an important role in suppressing the traffic jams on a gradient highway. The theoretical findings have been verified through numerical simulation which confirm that the slope on a gradient highway significantly influence the traffic dynamics and traffic jam can be suppressed efficiently by considering the optimal current difference effect in the new lattice model.     

Analyses of Lattice Traffic Flow Model on a Gradient Highway

The optimal current difference lattice hydrodynamic model is extended to investigate the traffic flow dynamics on a unidirectional single lane gradient highway. The effect of slope on uphill/downhill highway is examined through linear stability analysis and shown that the slope significantly affects the stability region on the phase diagram. Using nonlinear stability analysis, the Burgers, Korteweg-deVries (KdV) and modified Korteweg-deVries (mKdV) equations are derived in stable, metastable and unstable region, respectively. The effect of reaction coefficient is examined and concluded that it plays an important role in suppressing the traffic jams on a gradient highway. The theoretical findings have been verified through numerical simulation which confirm that the slope on a gradient highway significantly influence the traffic dynamics and traffic jam can be suppressed efficiently by considering the optimal current difference effect in the new lattice model.     

Traffic flow on a toll highway with electronic and traditional tollgates

We study the traffic states and jams occurring in traffic flow on a two-lane toll highway with electronic and manual (traditional) tollgates. The electronic and manual collection vehicles sort themselves into their respective lanes at low density, while they mix at each tollgate at high density. We derive the fundamental diagrams (flow-density diagrams) for the electronic and manual collection vehicles. The traffic states change with increasing density and varying the ratio. Dynamical phase transitions occur. It is shown that the fundamental diagrams for the two tollgates depend greatly on the density and fraction of both vehicles.     

Traffic states induced by slowdown sections on two-lane highway

We study the traffic states and jams occurring on a two-lane highway with a few slowdown sections. We derive the fundamental diagrams (flow-density diagrams). The fundamental diagrams on first and second lanes depend highly on the configuration of slowdown sections. The occupancy fraction of vehicles on first and second lanes varies with configuration of slowdown sections and also changes with density for the definite configuration. When a jam is formed on a lane, the flow (current) saturates on the lane. The saturated flow is given by the maximal value of the current of the slowdown section. The relationship between the densities before and after the jam is derived analytically. The dependence of jam lengths on density is derived numerically and analytically.     

Fundamental diagram in traffic flow of mixed vehicles on multi-lane highway

We study the fundamental diagram for traffic flow of vehicular mixture on a multi-lane highway. We present the car-following model of multi-lane traffic in which slow and fast vehicles flow with changing lanes. We investigate the traffic states of the vehicular mixture under the periodic boundary. Two values of the current appear at a density and two current curves are obtained. Vehicles move with changing lanes in the traffic state of high current, while vehicles move without changing lanes in the traffic state of low current. They depend on the density, the fraction of slow vehicles, and the initial condition. In the high-current curve, the jamming transition between the free flow and the jammed state occurs at a low density. The fundamental diagrams (current-density diagrams) are shown for the single-lane, two-lane, three-lane, and four-lane traffics.     

Traffic jam and discontinuity induced by slowdown in two-stage optimal-velocity model

We study the traffic states and jams induced by a slowdown of vehicles in a single-lane highway. The two-stage optimal velocity model is used in which the optimal velocity function has two turning points. The fundamental (flow-density) diagrams are calculated. At low density, the flow (current) increases linearly with density, while it saturates at some values of intermediate density. When the flow saturates, the discontinuous front (stationary shock wave) appears before or within the section of slowdown. The values of saturated flow are determined by the extreme values of theoretical current curves. The relationship between the densities is derived before and after the discontinuity.     

Analysis of energy dissipation in traffic flow with a variable slope

We derive the motion energy dissipation model to investigate the relation between the additional energy loss of vehicles and the slope of a gradient. Simulations are carried out to check the validity of the dissipation model. Analysis of the results shows that the total energy consumption is inversely proportional to the slope in an uphill situation and the opposite conclusion can be drawn in a downhill situation. The energy dissipation rate depends on the density of traffic and the road length in two situations in a rule. It is found that the simulation result is in good agreement with real traffic.     

Traffic flow through multi-lane tollbooths on a toll highway

We study the traffic states and queuing occurring in traffic flow on a toll highway with multi-lane tollgates. The traffic states change with increasing density and varying number of tollgates. When the manual-collection vehicles sort themselves into the tollgates, the queues occur just in front of the tollgates if the vehicular density is higher than a critical value. The queuing in front of tollgates is induced by the competition between the lane expansion and slowdown effects. When the lane expansion effect is superior to the slowdown effect, no queuing occurs. We derive the fundamental diagrams (current-density diagrams) for the traffic flow on the toll highway. The current saturates at the nearest tollgate at a low density and the saturation extends to the next-nearest tollgate with increasing density.     

Phase transition on speed limit traffic with slope

Through introducing a generalized optimal speed function to consider spatial position, slope grade and variable safe headway, the effect of slope in a single-lane highway on the traffic flow is investigated with the extended optimal speed model. The theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the flux of the whole road with the upgrade （or downgrade） increases linearly with density, saturates at a critical density, then maintains this saturated value in a certain density range and finally decreases with density. The value of saturated flux is equal to the maximum flux of the upgrade （or downgrade） without considering the slight influence of the driver＇s sensitivity. And the fundamental diagrams also depend on sensitivity, slope grade and slope length. The spatiotemporal pattern gives the segregation of different traffic phases caused by the rarefaction wave and the shock wave under a certain initial vehicle number. A comparison between the upgrade and the downgrade indicates that the value of saturated flux of the downgrade is larger than that of the upgrade under the same condition. This result is in accordance with the real traffic.     

Traffic states and fundamental diagram in cellular automaton model of vehicular traffic controlled by signals

We present a cellular automaton (CA) model for vehicular traffic controlled by traffic lights. The CA model is not described by a set of rules, but is given by a simple difference equation. The vehicular motion varies highly with both signals’ characteristics and vehicular density. The dependence of tour time on both cycle time and vehicular density is clarified. In the dilute limit of vehicles, the vehicular motion is compared with that by the nonlinear-map model. The fundamental diagrams are derived numerically. It is shown that the fundamental diagram depends highly on the signals’ characteristics. The traffic states are shown for various values of cycle time in the fundamental diagram. We also study the effect of a slow vehicle on the traffic flow.     

Nonlinear analysis of traffic flow on a gradient highway

We investigate the slope effects upon traffic flow on a single lane gradient (uphill/downhill) highway analytically and numerically. The stability condition, neutral stability condition and instability condition are obtained by the use of linear stability theory. It is found that stability of traffic flow on the gradient varies with the slopes. The Burgers, Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) and modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equations are derived to describe the triangular shock waves, soliton waves and kink-antikink waves in the stable, meta-stable and unstable region respectively. A series of simulations are carried out to reproduce the triangular shock waves, kink-antikink waves and soliton waves. Results show that amplitudes of the triangular shock waves and kink-antikink waves vary with the slopes, the soliton wave appears in an upward form when the average headway is less than the safety distance and a downward form when the average headway is more than the safety distance. Moreover both the kink-antikink waves and the solitary waves propagate backwards. The numerical simulation shows a good agreement with the analytical result.     

Derivation of a fundamental diagram for urban traffic flow

Despite the importance of urban traffic flows, there are only a few theoretical approaches to determine fundamental relationships between macroscopic traffic variables such as the traffic density, the utilization, the average velocity, and the travel time. In the past, empirical measurements have primarily been described by fit curves. Here, we derive expected fundamental relationships from a model of traffic flows at intersections, which suggest that the recently measured fundamental diagrams for urban flows can be systematically understood. In particular, this allows one to derive the average travel time and the average vehicle speed as a function of the utilization and/or the average number of delayed vehicles.     

自动巡航混合交通系统的研究

基于自动驾驶原理,建立了单车道上由两种长度、可分别以不同的最大速度行驶、具有自动巡航驾驶功能的车辆构成的混合交通流模型.通过计算机数值模拟,得到了混合车流在不同参数下交通流模型的基本图,并借助平均场理论对其进行解析.得到的理论结果与实验模拟相一致. 关键词： 元胞自动机 自动巡航控制系统 临界占用率 临界密度     

Synchronized traffic flow simulating with cellular automata model

The synchronized flow traffic phase of Kerner’s three-phase traffic theory can be well reproduced by the model proposed by Jiang and Wu [R. Jiang, Q.S. Wu, J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 36 (2003) 381]. But in the Jiang and Wu model, the rule for brake light-after switching on, the brake light will not set off until the vehicle accelerates-is obviously unrealistic. Thus we improved the model by considering the difference in accelerating and decelerating performance under different driving conditions. The fundamental diagram and spatial-temporal diagrams are analyzed. We confirmed that the new model could reproduce the synchronized flow by two methods, i.e. the traffic flow interruption effect and performing microscopic analysis of time series data. Simulation results show that the decelerating difference is an important factor to reproduce the synchronized flow. We expect that our work could make contributions to understanding the mechanism of the synchronized flow.     

Freezing transition in the mean-field approximation model of pedestrian counter flow

We study the freezing transition in the counter flow of pedestrians within the channel numerically and analytically. We present the mean-field approximation (MFA) model for the pedestrian counter flow. The model is described in terms of a couple of nonlinear difference equations. The excluded-volume effect and bi-directionality are taken into account. The fundamental diagrams (current-density diagrams) are derived. When pedestrian density is higher than a critical value, the dynamical phase transition occurs from the free flow to the freezing (stopping) state. The critical density is derived by using the linear stability analysis. Also, the velocity and current (flow) at the steady state are derived analytically. The analytical result is consistent with that obtained by the numerical simulation.     

考虑车辆相对运动速度的交通流演化过程的数值模拟

提出考虑了车辆相对运动速度的最佳速度跟车模型,对该模型稳定性进行了分析.对其所描述的交通流的演化过程进行了数值模拟,并与未考虑相对运动速度的最佳速度跟车模型作了比较. 关键词： 交通流 最佳速度 跟车模型 相对运动速度     

A Lattice Model for Bidirectional Pedestrian Flow on Gradient Road

Ramps and sloping roads appear everywhere in the built environment. It is obvious that the movement pattern of people in the sloping path may be different as compared with the pattern on level roads. Previously, most of the studies, especially the mathematical and simulation models, on pedestrian movement consider the flow at level routes. This study proposes a new lattice model for bidirectional pedestrian flow on gradient road. The stability condition is obtained by using linear stability theory. The nonlinear analysis method is employed to derive the modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation, and the space of pedestrian flow is divided into three regions: the stable region, the metastable region, and the unstable region respectively. Furthermore, the time-dependent Ginzburg—Landan (TDGL) equation is deduced and solved through the reductive perturbation method. Finally, we present detailed results obtained from the model, and it is found that the stability of the model is enhanced in uphill situation while reduced in downhill situation with increasing slope.     

Freezing transition in a four-directional traffic model for facing and crossing pedestrian flow

We study the traffic behavior in the facing and crossing traffic of pedestrians numerically and analytically. There are four kinds of walkers, those moving to east, to west, to north, and to south. We present the mean-field approximation (MFA) model for the four-directional traffic. The model is described in terms of four nonlinear difference equations. The excluded-volume effect and directionality are taken into account. The fundamental diagrams (current-density diagrams) are derived. When pedestrian density is higher than a critical value, the dynamical phase transition occurs from the free flow to the frozen (stopping) state. The critical density is derived by using the linear stability analysis. The velocity and current (flow) at the steady state are derived analytically. The analytical result is consistent with that obtained by the numerical simulation.     

Effect of headway and velocity on safety-collision transition induced by lane changing in traffic flow

We study the traffic behavior when a vehicle changes from the first lane to the second lane on a two-lane highway. The incoming vehicle decelerates or accelerates by interacting with the vehicle ahead or behind on the second lane. We apply the extended optimal velocity model to the vehicular motion to take into account the velocity difference. We investigate whether or not the incoming vehicle collides with the vehicles ahead or behind. We derive such conditions that the incoming vehicle comes into collision with the vehicles ahead or behind. The safety-collision transition occurs by changing the lane. The dynamic transition depends highly on the headway, the vehicular speed, the sensitivity, and the velocity difference. We present the phase diagram (or region map) for the safety-collision transition.