Stabilization of traffic flow in optimal velocity model via delayed-feedback control

Traffic jams may occur due to various reasons, such as traffic accidents, lane reductions and on-ramps. In order to suppress the traffic congestion in an optimal velocity traffic model without any driver’s delay taken into account, a delayed-feedback control of both displacement and velocity differences is proposed in this study. By using the delay-independent stability criteria and the H_∞-norm, the delayed-feedback control can be determined to stabilize the unstable traffic flow and suppress the traffic jam. The numerical case studies are given to demonstrate and verify the new control method. Furthermore, a comparison is made between the new control method and the method proposed by Konishi et al. [K. Konishi, M. Hirai, H. Kokame, Decentralized delayed-feedback control of an optimal velocity traffic model, Eur. Phys. J. B 15 (2000) 715–722]. The results show that the new control method makes the traffic flow more stable and improves the control performance.     

Full velocity difference and acceleration model for a car-following theory

In order to describe the car-following behavior more actually in real traffic, a full velocity difference and acceleration model (for short, FVDAM) is proposed by synthetically taking into account headway, velocity difference and acceleration of the leading car on the basis of full velocity difference model. The analytical method and numerical simulation results show that the proposed model can describe the phase transition of traffic flow and estimate the evolution of traffic congestion, that incorporating the acceleration of the leading car into car-following model can stabilize traffic flow, suppress the traffic jam and increase capacity, and that the following car in FVDAM can accelerate more quickly than in FVDM.     

An analytic finite capacity queueing network model capturing the propagation of congestion and blocking

Analytic queueing network models often assume infinite capacity queues due to the difficulty of grasping the between-queue correlation. This correlation can help to explain the propagation of congestion. We present an analytic queueing network model which preserves the finite capacity of the queues and uses structural parameters to grasp the between-queue correlation. Unlike pre-existing models it maintains the network topology and the queue capacities exogenous. Additionally, congestion is directly modeled via a novel formulation of the state space of the queues which explicitly captures the blocking phase. The model can therefore describe the sources and effects of congestion.     

Kink–antikink density wave of an extended car-following model in a cooperative driving system

We propose an extended optimal velocity model applicable to cooperative driving control system by considering the headway of arbitrary number of cars that precede and the relative velocity. The stability condition of the extended model is obtained by using the linear stability theory. The modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation is derived to describe the traffic behavior near the critical point by applying the nonlinear analysis. Thus the traffic jams can be described by the kink–antikink density wave which is the solution of the mKdV equation. The simulation results confirm the analytical results and show that the traffic jams are suppressed more efficiently with considering not only the headway of more vehicles ahead but also the relative velocity.     

基于SD-VF理论的城市限行政策效应研究

随着我国城市化进程不断加快,城市交通供需矛盾日益突出,交通拥堵问题愈发严重,我国各地纷纷实行各种政策措施来缓解交通拥堵。本文以北京市为例,针对城市交通拥堵的现象,从系统的角度出发,运用系统动力学与灰色Verhulst预测相结合的方法(SD-VF),建立城市交通治堵模型,并采用Vensim软件对模型进行动态仿真分析,从经济、社会、环境等方面探究政策措施对城市环境生态承载力、道路生态承载力等的影响。研究结果表明,限行限号政策虽然在一定程度上提高道路生态承载力,但也可能引发“悖论”效应;修路政策并没有根本上解决城市交通拥堵问题,仅仅是把拥堵状况向后推迟;而相对于单一政策,将发展公共交通与限行政策相结合可以有效缓解交通拥堵,改善空气质量,提升环境承载力,是更加科学合理的政策措施。     

Analytical studies on the instabilities of heterogeneous intelligent traffic flow

It has been widely reported in literature that a small perturbation in traffic flow such as a sudden deceleration of a vehicle could lead to the formation of traffic jams without a clear bottleneck. These traffic jams are usually related to instabilities in traffic flow. The applications of intelligent traffic systems are a potential solution to reduce the amplitude or to eliminate the formation of such traffic instabilities. A lot of research has been conducted to theoretically study the effect of intelligent vehicles, for example adaptive cruise control vehicles, using either computer simulation or analytical method. However, most current analytical research has only applied to single class traffic flow. To this end, the main topic of this paper is to perform a linear stability analysis to find the stability threshold of heterogeneous traffic flow using microscopic models, particularly the effect of intelligent vehicles on heterogeneous (or multi-class) traffic flow instabilities. The analytical results will show how intelligent vehicle percentages affect the stability of multi-class traffic flow.     

交通拥堵与空气质量——来自汽车尾号限行的证据

由于空气的污染来源众多,交通拥堵是否加剧了空气质量的恶化,一般情况下很难界定和区分。本文利用一个特殊的工具变量——北京市工作日高峰时段汽车根据尾号限行,来分析和回答上述问题。由于受文化习惯影响,居民在挑选车牌号码时一般都不选4,因此包含数字4的车牌号很少。每当限行尾号为4和9的工作日,北京市的道路交通相比其他工作日会更拥堵,这为我们提供了一个识别交通拥堵的独特指标。通过使用双重差分模型排除了大量干扰因素后,我们对北京市35个空气质量监测站点PM2.5浓度逐时数据的分析发现,在限行尾号为4和9的工作日,高峰时段与非高峰时段的PM2.5浓度差异,比其他工作日的差异高出9.46%。交通拥堵显著降低了空气质量。     

A new lattice model of two-lane traffic flow with the consideration of optimal current difference

In this paper, a new lattice model of traffic flow is proposed with the consideration of the optimal current difference for two-lane system. The linear stability condition is derived through linear stability analysis, which shows that the optimal current difference term can improve the stability of traffic flow. The mKdV equation is obtained through nonlinear analysis. Thus the space of traffic flow is divided into three regions: the stable region, the metastable region and the unstable region respectively. Moreover, numerical simulation confirms that the traffic jam can be suppressed efficiently by considering the optimal current difference effect in extended lattice model of two-lane traffic flow.     

Modelling traffic flow with a time‐dependent fundamental diagram

We model traffic flow with a time‐dependent fundamental diagram. A time‐dependent fundamental diagram arises naturally from various factors such as weather conditions, traffic jam or modern traffic congestion managements, etc. The model is derived from a car‐following model which takes into account the situation changes over the time elapsed time. It is a system of non‐concave hyperbolic conservation laws with time‐dependent flux and the sources. The global existence and uniqueness of the solution to the Cauchy problem is established under the condition that the variation in time of the fundamental diagram is bounded. The zero relaxation limit of the solutions is found to be the unique entropy solution of the equilibrium equation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of a modified two-lane lattice model by considering the density difference effect

In this paper, a modified lattice hydrodynamic model of traffic flow is proposed by considering the density difference between leading and following lattice for two-lane system. The effect of density difference on the stability of traffic flow is examined through linear stability analysis and shown that the density difference term can significantly enlarge the stability region on the phase diagram. To describe the phase transition of traffic flow, the Burgers equation and mKdV equation near the critical point are derived through nonlinear analysis. To verify the theoretical findings, numerical simulation is conducted which confirms that traffic jam can be suppressed efficiently by considering the density difference effect in the modified lattice model for two-lane traffic.     

Cellular automata based traffic model that allows the cars to move with a small velocity during congestion

A typical non-zero velocity of traffic is observed in congestion, which the classical CA (cellular automata) based traffic models fail to reproduce properly. This paper proposes a traffic model to address the issue. The proposed model is motivated from the properties of rule 226 CA, which can deterministically model such continuous movement of cars during congestion. The reported model allows a continuous flow of traffic with small (non-zero) velocity in congestion, as well as can reproduce the traffic data observed empirically on highways.     

Spatial distribution complexities of traffic congestion and bottlenecks in different network topologies

Recently, urban traffic congestion has become a popular social problem. The generation and the propagation of congestion has close relation with the network topology, the traffic flow, etc. In this study, based on the traffic flow propagation method, we investigate the time and space distribution characteristics of the traffic congestion and bottlenecks in different network topologies (e.g., small world, random and regular network). The simulation results show that the random network is an optimal traffic structure, in which the traffic congestion is smaller than others. Moreover, the regular network is the worst topology which is prone to be congested. Additionally, we also prove the effects of network with community structure on the traffic system and congestion bottlenecks including its generation, propagation and time–space complexities. Results indicate that the strong community structure can improve the network performance and is effective to resist the propagation of the traffic congestion.     

基于SD-GM理论的城市交通拥堵收费模型研究

随着中国城市化建设步伐的不断加快,交通拥堵在不断地加剧。同时,因机动车污染物的排放,每年将产生大量的NO_x,从而又会引起严重的大气污染(如“雾霾”污染)。针对这些问题,本文从环境和社会的角度出发,采用系统动力学与灰色系统相结合的方法(SD-GM),构建了城市交通拥堵收费模型,并对模型中主要变量进行动态仿真和决策分析,以此来寻找缓解交通拥堵和减少机动车尾气排放的可行策略。通过现实性测试和敏感性测试,得到拥堵收费的范围不超过100元/天*辆。通过进一步的仿真和结果分析可得到以下结论:(1)在区间[25,40] 内,随着拥堵收费的提高,NO_x存量,机动车出行吸引度和交通拥堵程度都呈下降趋势,而车均道路面积呈上升趋势。(2)但并非拥堵收费越高越好, 超过40 元/天*辆,会产生相反的效果。最后,通过比较分析,得到NO_x存量,机动车出行量,机动车出行吸引度和交通拥堵程度分别下降了约33.76%,39.64%,43.26%,82.25%,而车均道路面积提高了大约65.68%,进而验证了模型的有效性和实用性。     

A feedback fluid queue with two congestion control thresholds

Feedback fluid queues play an important role in modeling congestion control mechanisms for packet networks. In this paper we present and analyze a fluid queue with a feedback-based traffic rate adaptation scheme which uses two thresholds. The higher threshold B ₁ is used to signal the beginning of congestion while the lower threshold B ₂ signals the end of congestion. These two parameters together allow to make the trade-off between maximizing throughput performance and minimizing delay. The difference between the two thresholds helps to control the amount of feedback signals sent to the traffic source. In our model the input source can behave like either of two Markov fluid processes. The first applies as long as the upper threshold B ₁ has not been hit from below. As soon as that happens, the traffic source adapts and switches to the second process, until B ₂ (smaller than B ₁) is hit from above. We analyze the model by setting up the Kolmogorov forward equations, then solving the corresponding balance equations using a spectral expansion, and finally identifying sufficient constraints to solve for the unknowns in the solution. In particular, our analysis yields expressions for the stationary distribution of the buffer occupancy, the buffer delay distribution, and the throughput.     

A network traffic flow model for motorway and urban highways

The research reported in this paper develops a network-level traffic flow model (NTFM) that is applicable for both motorways 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 that comprise the highway. The flow at any one part of the network is obviously very dependent on 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, the effects of strategies used to carry out roadworks can be mimicked.     

Digital Simulations of Runway Utilization

Queues of aircraft that form at airports, both in the air and on the ground, are the biggest source of delay in civil air transport operations. The study of these queues is complicated by the fact that the times at which aircraft join the queues are not independent, and also by considerable diurnal fluctuation of traffic.This paper describes an approach, primarily through simulation of idealized models, on a digital computer. The object of the work was to obtain insight into the behaviour of runway queues rather than to imitate the activity of a particular airport. The models used assume that the arrival times at the queues are the result of a scheduled pattern being disordered through aircraft being independently early or late. Such an arrival process degenerates to a Poisson process if the discrepancies from schedule are very large, but in practice it is significantly different. Results from 300,000 simulated take-offs and landings are given.     

An evaluation of freeway lane control signing using computer simulation

Lane control has been proposed as a traffic congestion alleviation method. For this method to work, a certain minimum percentage of the drivers must comply with the lane signing. The research described here has been performed to analyze the percentage of drivers that must comply with lane control. A simulation model was developed and tested. The simulation results for heavy traffic flow (1550 vehicles per hour per lane—vphpl), medium traffic flow (900 vphpl), and light traffic flow (300 vphpl) conditions indicate that lane control has little influence on congestion, regardless of the percentage of drivers that comply with the lane control signing. For heavy flow, the congestion level remains high even when all drivers comply. For medium and light flow, the congestion level remains low even when no drivers comply. The region between heavy and medium traffic flow is, however, sensitive to lane control. Four flow rates between medium and heavy flow were tested. The impact of lane control under these conditions is described.     

Nonlinear analysis of lattice model with consideration of optimal current difference

Based on Li’s lattice model, a new lattice model considering the influence of optimal current difference information is presented. The linear stability criterion of this model is obtained by employing the linear stability theory. The results show that the new consideration contributes to the stabilization of traffic systems. The modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation is derived by using the nonlinear analysis method. The occurrence of traffic jamming transitions could be thus described by the kink-antikink soliton solution for the mKdV equation. From the simulation results of space–time evolution of the vehicle density, it is shown that the traffic jam is suppressed efficiently with considering the information of optimal current difference, and the analytical results is in good agreement with the simulation ones.