Influences of overtaking on two-lane traffic with signals

Based on the cellular automata method (CA method), two-lane traffic flow with the consideration of overtaking is investigated. Discrete equations are proposed to describe the traffic dynamics by using the rules of CA model. Influences of signal cycle time (t_s) and vehicular density (ρ) on the mean velocity 〈v〉 and mean overtaking times 〈c〉 of the traffic flow are discussed. The effects of slow vehicles and road barricades on the traffic flow are also studied. Simulation results shows that the vehicular density and the signal cycle time have significant influences on the traffic flow. The mean velocity of the traffic flow could keep a comparatively large value when ρ≤0.45. For a certain value of ρ, 〈v〉 displays a serrated fluctuation with t_s. Therefore, there may exist a certain combination of ρ and t_s which optimizes the traffic flow efficiency. As compared with the results in Nagatani (2009) [7], the model proposed here and the simulation results which took into account the effects of signal cycle time, slow vehicles, and road barricades on the traffic flow with overtaking allowed, can reflect the situation of traffic flow in a more realistic way.     

Enskog-like kinetic models for vehicular traffic

In the present paper a general criticism of kinetic equations for vehicular traffic is given. The necessity of introducing an Enskog-type correction into these equations is shown. An Enskog-like kinetic traffic flow equation is presented and fluid dynamic equations are derived. This derivation yields new coefficients for the standard fluid dynamic equations of vehicular traffic. Numerical simulations for inhomogeneous traffic flow situations are shown together with a comparison between kinetic and fluid dynamic models.     

Effect of driver over-acceleration on traffic breakdown in three-phase cellular automaton traffic flow models

Based on simulations with cellular automaton (CA) traffic flow models, a generic physical feature of the three-phase models studied in the paper is disclosed. The generic feature is a discontinuous character of driver over-acceleration caused by a combination of two qualitatively different mechanisms of over-acceleration: (i) Over-acceleration through lane changing to a faster lane, (ii) over-acceleration occurring in car-following without lane changing. Based on this generic feature a new three-phase CA traffic flow model is developed. This CA model explains the set of the fundamental empirical features of traffic breakdown in real heterogeneous traffic flow consisting of passenger vehicles and trucks. The model simulates also quantitative traffic pattern characteristics as measured in real heterogeneous flow.     

Jam formation in traffic flow on a highway with some slowdown sections

We study the traffic jams appearing on a single-lane highway with a few slowdown sections. At low density, the flow (current) increases linearly with density, while it saturates at some values of intermediate density. In such case that some slowdown sections have the same speed limit, when the flow begins to saturate, a single discontinuous front (stationary shock wave) occurs before a slowdown section or some discontinuous fronts appear before some slowdown sections. For the case of different speed limits, the discontinuous front occurs before the section of strongest slowdown. The saturated flow is given by the maximal value of the current of the strongest slowdown section. The relationship between the densities is derived before and after the discontinuity. The dependence of jam lengths on density is derived numerically and analytically.     

Nonsingular cosmological models: the massive scalar field case

The nonminimal coupling of a massive self-interacting scalar field with a gravitational field is studied. Spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs in the open universe even when the sign on the mass term is positive. In contrast to grand unified theories, symmetry breakdown is more important for the early universe and it is restored only in the limit of an infinite expansion. Symmetry breakdown is shown to occur in flat and closed universes when the mass term carries a wrong sign. The model has a naturally defined effective gravitational coupling coefficient which is rendered time-dependent due to the novel symmetry breakdown. It changes sign below a critical value of the cosmic scale factor indicating the onset of a repulsive field. The presence of the mass term severely alters the behaviour of ordinary matter and radiation in the early universe. The total energy density becomes negative in a certain domain. These features make possible a nonsingular cosmological model for an open universe. The model is also free from the horizon and the flatness problems.     

Honking noise corrections for traffic noise prediction models in heterogeneous traffic conditions like India

In developing countries like India, the nature of the composition of traffic is heterogeneous. A heterogeneous traffic flow consists of vehicles that have different sizes, speeds, vehicle spacing and operating characteristics. As a result of the widely varying speeds, vehicular dimensions, lack of lane disciplines, honking becomes inevitable. In addition, it changes the urban soundscape of developing countries. In heterogeneous traffic conditions, horn events increase noise level (L_den) by 0.5–13 dB(A) as compared to homogenous traffic conditions. Therefore, the traffic prediction models that are used for homogenous traffic conditions are not applicable in heterogeneous traffic conditions. To increase the accuracy of noise prediction models, in depth understanding of heterogeneous traffic noise is required. Understanding the real traffic noise characteristics requires quantification of some of the basic traffic flow characteristics such as speed, flow, Level Of Service (LOS) and density. In a given roadway, the noise level changes with density and LOS on the road. In this paper, a new factor for horn correction is introduced with respect of Level Of Service (LOS). The horn correction values can be incorporated in traffic noise models such as CRTN, FHWA, and RLS 90, while evaluating heterogeneous traffic conditions.     

Multiple jamming transitions in traffic flow

The effect of accelerating stepwise on the jamming transition is investigated in the extended car-following model. The optimal velocity function is modified to take into account accelerating stepwise vehicles. It is shown that the multiple phase transitions occur on varying the car density. The multiple transitions change with the delay time. The flow-density curves and the velocity-headway curves are presented for various delay times. It is also shown that the multiple jamming transition lines are consistent with the neutral stability curves. The jamming transitions are closely related with the turning points of the optimal velocity function.     

Universal behavior in a model of city traffic with unequal green/red times

The effect of green/red asymmetry is studied for the single-car traffic model proposed in [B.A. Toledo, V. Muñoz, J. Rogan, C. Tenreiro, J.A. Valdivia, Modeling traffic through a sequence of traffic lights, Phys. Rev. E 70 (1) (2004) 016107], on two different signal synchronization strategies, namely, all signals in phase, and a green wave. The asymmetry is characterized by the parameter g=_tgr/T$g=t_{\text{gr}}/T$, where _tgr$t_{\text{gr}}$ is the green time and T$T$ the signal period. Although the car dynamics turns simpler or more complex, as compared with the equivalent situation for the symmetric case g=0.5$g=0.5$, critical behavior around resonance is shown to be preserved. However, unlike the case g=0.5$g=0.5$, critical exponents at both sides of the resonance are not equal and depend on g$g$. Analytical expressions for them are found, and shown to be both consistent with simulation results and independent of the distribution of distances between signals for the green wave case. Also, it is found that the green wave strategy is more robust to changes in g$g$, with respect to the synchronized lights strategy, in the sense that larger departures from g=0.5$g=0.5$ are needed to have noticeable effects on the car dynamics.     

Phase diagram of a traffic roundabout

We propose a simple cellular automaton model to study the traffic dynamics in a roundabout. Both numerical and analytical results are presented. We are able to obtain exact solutions in the full parameter space. Exact phase diagrams are derived. When the traffic from two directions mixed, there are only five distinct phases. Some of the combinations from naive intuition are strictly forbidden. We also compare the results to a signaled intersection.     

Fluctuation and transition of vehicular traffic through a sequence of traffic lights

We study the dynamical behavior of N vehicles with no passing, but are moving through a sequence of traffic lights on a single-lane highway, where the traffic lights turn on and off periodically with the synchronized strategy. The dynamical model of N vehicles controlled by traffic lights is described in terms of coupled maps with three parameters. The motions of vehicles display a complex behavior, interacting with other vehicles through the sequence of traffic lights. Fluctuation of the leading vehicle is amplified to the following vehicles. The amplification of fluctuation changes with cycle time. The dynamical behavior of vehicles depends highly on their position of grouping vehicles. Signal traffic at a low density changes at specific values of cycle time. The complex dynamical transitions occur by varying three parameters.     

A new lattice model of traffic flow with the consideration of the traffic interruption probability

In this paper, we present a new lattice model which involves the effects of traffic interruption probability to describe the traffic flow on single lane freeways. The stability condition of the new model is obtained by the linear stability analysis and the modified Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation is derived through nonlinear analysis. Thus, the space will be divided into three regions: stable, metastable and unstable. The simulation results also show that the traffic interruption probability could stabilize traffic flow.     

Cellular automaton model for traffic flow based on safe driving policies and human reactions

This paper proposes a new single-lane cellular automaton model for traffic flow. The model takes into account normal drivers’ spacing policies and transportation engineering practices to guarantee that microscopic vehicle behavior is more in line with vehicular movement in the real world. As a result, drivers’ reactions are based on a safety analysis that determines the most appropriate action for a vehicle to take. Hence, the model introduces a new set of simple rules to change the speed of vehicles that incorporates three important thresholds required by the follower vehicle to accelerate, slow down or maintain its speed. Thus, the space gap, relative speed and limited acceleration/deceleration capabilities are introduced into simulations. Simulation results obtained from a system with periodic conditions show that the model can smooth the speed drop when vehicles approach the upstream front of the traffic jam. Therefore, the model avoids unrealistic deceleration behavior found in most previous cellular automata models. Besides, the model is also capable of reproducing most empirical findings including the three states of traffic flow, the backward speed of the downstream front of the traffic jam, and different congested traffic patterns induced by a system with open boundary conditions with an on-ramp. Moreover, the new model preserves the computational simplicity of the cellular automata models.     

Traffic states and jamming transitions induced by a bus in two-lane traffic flow

We study the traffic states and jamming transitions induced by a bus (slow car) in a two-lane traffic of cars. We use the dynamic model which is an extended one of the optimal velocity model to take into account the lane changing. The fundamental (flow-density) diagram is presented. The fundamental diagram changes highly by introducing a bus on a two-lane roadway. It is found that there are the six distinct states for the two-lane traffic flow including a bus. The spatio-temporal patterns are presented for the distinct traffic states. The dynamical state of traffic changes with density of cars. It is shown that the dynamical transitions among the distinct traffic states occur at some values of density. The phase diagram (region map) is shown for the two-lane traffic flow including a bus.     

A road traffic noise pattern simulation model that includes distributions of vehicle sound power levels

Annoyance, sleep disturbance and other health effects of road traffic noise exposure may be related to both level and number of noise events caused by traffic, not just to energy equivalent measures of exposure. Dynamic traffic noise prediction models that include instantaneous vehicle noise emissions can be used to estimate either of these measures. However, current state-of-the-art vehicle noise emission models typically consider a single emission law for each vehicle category, whereas measurements show that the variation in noise emission between vehicles within the same category can be considerable. It is essential that the influence of vehicles that are producing significantly more (or less) noise than the average vehicle are taken into account in modeling in order to correctly predict the levels and frequency of occurrence of road traffic noise events, and in particular to calculate indicators that characterize these noise events. Here, an approach for predicting instantaneous sound levels caused by road traffic is presented, which takes into account measured distributions of sound power levels produced by individual vehicles. For the setting of a receiver adjacent to a dual-lane road carrying free flow traffic, the effect of this approach on estimated percentile levels and sound event indicators is investigated.     

A new class of cosmological models in Lyra geometry

FRW models have been studied in the cosmological theory based on Lyra’s geometry. A new class of exact solutions has been obtained by considering a time dependent displacement field for constant deceleration parameter models of the universe. Dedicated to Professor V B Johri on his sixtieth birthday.     

The theoretical analysis of the lattice hydrodynamic models for traffic flow theory

The lattice hydrodynamic model is not only a simplified version of the macroscopic hydrodynamic model, but also connected with the microscopic car following model closely. The modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation related to the density wave in a congested traffic region has been derived near the critical point since Nagatani first proposed it. But the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation near the neutral stability line has not been studied, which has been investigated in detail for the car following model. We devote ourselves to obtaining the KdV equation from the original lattice hydrodynamic models and the KdV soliton solution to describe the traffic jam. Especially, we obtain the general soliton solution of the KdV equation and the mKdV equation. We review several lattice hydrodynamic models, which were proposed recently. We compare the modified models and carry out some analysis. Numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the nonlinear analysis results.     

Clustering and maximal flow in vehicular traffic through a sequence of traffic lights

We study the maximal current (maximum traffic capacity) of vehicular traffic through a sequence of traffic lights on a highway, where all signals turn on and off synchronously. The dynamical model of vehicular traffic controlled by signals is expressed in terms of a nonlinear map, where the excluded-volume effect is taken into account. The dynamical behaviors of vehicles are clarified by analyzing traffic patterns. The clustering of vehicles varies with the cycle time of signals. The maximum current is closely connected to vehicular clustering. Clustering of vehicles is controlled by varying both split and cycle time of signals. The dependence of the maximal current on both split and cycle time is derived.     

Driver choice compared to controlled diversion for a freeway double on-ramp in the framework of three-phase traffic theory

Two diversion schemes that apportion demand between two on-ramps to reduce congestion and improve throughput on a freeway are analyzed. In the first scheme, drivers choose to merge or to divert to a downstream on-ramp based on information about average travel times for the two routes: (1) merge and travel on the freeway or (2) divert and travel on a surface street with merging downstream. The flow, rate of merging at the ramps, and the travel times oscillate strongly, but irregularly, due to delayed feedback. In the second scheme, diversion is controlled by the average mainline velocities just upstream of the on-ramps. Driver choice is not involved. If the average upstream velocity on the mainline drops below a predetermined value (20 m/s) vehicles are diverted to the downstream ramp. When the average mainline velocity downstream becomes too low, diversion is no longer permitted. The resultant oscillations in this scheme are nearly periodic. The period is dominated by the response time of the mainline to interruption of merging rather than delayed feedback, which contributes only a minor component linear in the distance separating the on-ramps. In general the second scheme produces more effective congestion reduction and greater throughput. Also the travel times for on-ramp drivers are less than that obtained by drivers who attempt to minimize their own travel times (first scheme). The simulations are done using the Kerner-Klenov stochastic three-phase theory of traffic [B.S. Kerner, S.L. Klenov, Phys. Rev. E 68 (2003) 036130].     

Effect of adaptive cruise control systems on mixed traffic flow near an on-ramp

Mixed traffic flow consisting of vehicles equipped with adaptive cruise control (ACC) and manually driven vehicles is analyzed using car-following simulations. Simulations of merging from an on-ramp onto a freeway reported in the literature have not thus far demonstrated a substantial positive impact of ACC. In this paper cooperative merging for ACC vehicles is proposed to improve throughput and increase distance traveled in a fixed time. In such a system an ACC vehicle senses not only the preceding vehicle in the same lane but also the vehicle immediately in front in the other lane. Prior to reaching the merge region, the ACC vehicle adjusts its velocity to ensure that a safe gap for merging is obtained. If on-ramp demand is moderate, cooperative merging produces significant improvement in throughput (20%) and increases up to 3.6 km in distance traveled in 600 s for 50% ACC mixed flow relative to the flow of all-manual vehicles. For large demand, it is shown that autonomous merging with cooperation in the flow of all ACC vehicles leads to throughput limited only by the downstream capacity, which is determined by speed limit and headway time.     

Statistical models of diffusion and aggregation for coke formation in a catalyst pore

We simulated models of diffusion and aggregation in long pores of small widths in order to represent the basic mechanisms of coke deposition in catalysts’ pores. Coke precursors are represented by particles injected at the pore entrance. Knudsen diffusion, which is usually expected inside the pores, is modeled by ballistic motion of those particles. The regime of molecular diffusion is also analyzed via models of lattice random walks biased along the pores. The aggregation at the surface or near previously aggregated particles was modeled by different probabilistic rules, accounting for the possibilities of more compact or more ramified deposits. In the model of Knudsen diffusion and in some cases of molecular diffusion, there is an initial regime of uniform deposition along the pore, after which the deposits acquire an approximately wedge shape, with the pore plugging near its entrance. After the regime of uniform deposition and before that of critical pore plugging, the average aggregation position slowly decreases with the number N of deposited particles approximately as N^-0.25. The apparently universal features of deposits generated by microscopic models are compared with those currently adopted in continuum models.