Effect of gravitational force upon traffic flow with gradients

We study the effect of gravitational force upon traffic flow on a highway with sag, uphill, and downhill. We extend the optimal velocity model to take into account the gravitational force which acts on vehicles as an external force. We study the traffic states and jamming transitions induced by the slope of highway. We derive the fundamental diagrams (flow-density diagrams) for the traffic flow on the sag, the uphill, and downhill by using the extended optimal velocity model. We clarify where and when traffic jams occur on a highway with gradients. We show the relationship between densities before and after the jam. We derive the dependence of the fundamental diagram on the slope of gradients.     

Density waves in traffic flow model with relative velocity

The car-following model of traffic flow is extended to take into account the relative velocity. The stability condition of this model is obtained by using linear stability theory. It is shown that the stability of uniform traffic flow is improved by considering the relative velocity. From nonlinear analysis, it is shown that three different density waves, that is, the triangular shock wave, soliton wave and kink-antikink wave, appear in the stable, metastable and unstable regions of traffic flow respectively. The three different density waves are described by the nonlinear wave equations: the Burgers equation, Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation and modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation, respectively.     

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.     

Long-range correlation analysis of urban traffic data

<正>This paper investigates urban traffic data by analysing the long-range correlation with detrended fluctuation analysis.Through a large number of real data collected by the travel time detection system in Beijing,the variation of flow in different time periods and intersections is studied.According to the long-range correlation in different time scales, it mainly discusses the effect of intersection location in road net,people activity customs and special traffic controls on urban traffic flow.As demonstrated by the obtained results,the urban traffic flow represents three-phase characters similar to highway traffic.Moreover,compared by the two groups of data obtained before and after the special traffic restrictions(vehicles with special numbered plates only run in a special workday) enforcement,it indicates that the rules not only reduce the flow but also avoid irregular fluctuation.     

Analysis of stability and density waves of traffic flow model in an ITS environment

By introducing relative velocities of arbitrary number of cars ahead into the full velocity difference models (FVDM), we present a forward looking relative velocity model (FLRVM) of cooperative driving control system. To our knowledge, the model is an improvement over the similar extension in the forward looking optimal velocity models (FLOVM), because it is more reasonable and realistic in implement of incorporating intelligent transportation system in traffic. Then the stability criterion is investigated by the linear stability analysis with finding that new consideration theoretically lead to the improvement of the stability of traffic flow, and the validity of our theoretical analysis is confirmed by direct simulations. In addition, nonlinear analysis of the model shows that the three waves: triangular shock wave, soliton wave and kink-antikink wave appear respectively in stable, metastable and unstable regions. These correspond to the solutions of the Burgers equation, Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation and modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation.     

Continuum modeling for two-lane traffic flow with consideration of the traffic interruption probability

Considering the effects that the probability of traffic interruption and the friction between two lanes have on the car-following behaviour,this paper establishes a new two-lane microscopic car-following model.Based on this microscopic model,a new macroscopic model was deduced by the relevance relation of microscopic and macroscopic scale parameters for the two-lane traffic flow.Terms related to lane change are added into the continuity equations and velocity dynamic equations to investigate the lane change rate.Numerical results verify that the proposed model can be efficiently used to reflect the effect of the probability of traffic interruption on the shock,rarefaction wave and lane change behaviour on two-lane freeways.The model has also been applied in reproducing some complex traffic phenomena caused by traffic accident interruption.     

车辆的长度和速度对单车道混合交通流的影响

在NaSch交通流模型的基础上，建立了单车道上由两种长度不一样、可分别以不同最大速度行驶的车辆构成的混合交通流模型.在周期性边界条件下，通过计算机模拟研究了车辆的长度、最大速度和混合比例系数对混合交通流的影响. 关键词： 元胞自动机 混合交通流 计算机模拟     

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.     

Extended speed gradient model for traffic flow on two-lane freeways

In this paper, the speed gradient (SG) model is extended to describe the traffic flow on two-lane freeways. Terms related to lane change are added into the continuity equations and velocity dynamic equations. The empirically observed two-lane phenomena, such as lane usage inversion and lane change rate versus density, are reproduced by extended SG model. The local cluster effect is also investigated by numerical simulations.     

Cellular automata model for traffic flow with safe driving conditions

In this paper, a recently introduced cellular automata （CA） model is used for a statistical analysis of the inner micro-scopic structure of synchronized traffic flow. The analysis focuses on the formation and dissolution of clusters or platoons of vehicles, as the mechanism that causes the presence of this synchronized traffic state with a high flow. This platoon formation is one of the most interesting phenomena observed in traffic flows and plays an important role both in manual and automated highway systems （AHS）. Simulation results, obtained from a single-lane system under periodic boundary conditions indicate that in the density region where the synchronized state is observed, most vehicles travel together in pla- toons with approximately the same speed and small spatial distances. The examination of velocity variations and individual vehicle gaps shows that the flow corresponding to the synchronized state is stable, safe and highly correlated. Moreover, results indicate that the observed platoon formation in real traffic is reproduced in simulations by the relation between vehicle headway and velocity that is embedded in the dynamics definition of the CA model.     

Mitigation of congestion at a traffic bottleneck with diversion and lane restrictions

Mitigation of congestion on a two-lane highway with an off-ramp and an on-ramp is simulated with three-phase traffic theory. Advanced travel information-the average velocity of vehicles near the bottleneck at an on-ramp-is used to divert vehicles at an upstream off-ramp. If enough vehicles divert, previously expanding synchronous flow congestion can be stalled and isolated to the region between the ramps. The introduction of lane restrictions (forbidding lane changing on the portion of highway between the ramps) in addition to diversion substantially reduces and essentially eliminates the congestion, restoring flow to nearly free-flow conditions.     

智能交通系统的元胞自动机交通流模型

在Nagel-Schreckenberg(NS)模型的基础上，提出一种可应用智能交通系统（ITS）信息的新的交通流元胞自动机模型. 其中考虑了有效间距及刹车灯的作用，并引入了可变安全间距的新概念. 数值模拟表明：对于这种改进的ITS元胞自动机模型，道路交通量有了显著提高，体现了智能交通的优越性——有效地扩大交通流量，减少阻塞生成. 当考虑快车和慢车的混合交通流时，发现即使少量的慢车也会导致交通流量大幅度下降，说明了严格实施快慢道行驶的必要性. 关键词： 交通流 智能交通系统（ITS） 元胞自动机模型 刹车灯 可变安全间距     

Numerical study of urban traffic flow with dedicated bus lane and intermittent bus lane

Based on the cellular automaton traffic flow model and the concept of public transport priority, a two-lane traffic model with an intermittent bus lane is proposed and the properties of urban traffic flow are studied. The cases of traffic with a dedicated bus lane (DBL), an intermittent bus lane (IBL) and an ordinary two-lane traffic are simulated, and comparisons in the form of the fundamental diagrams and the velocity-density profiles are made between them. It is shown that the DBL has the advantage of freeing buses from traffic interference and also has the disadvantage of disrupting traffic, the IBL is more efficient in improving the bus flow than ordinary two-lane traffic and maintaining the car flow at a higher level at the same time than the DBL, while the ordinary two-lane traffic suppresses public transportation and is not advantageous in easing urban traffic congestion. Also it is indicated that the DBL is only appropriate for low traffic flow in a two-lane traffic system, and this limitation can be partly overcome by opening the bus lane to general traffic intermittently when the bus lane is not in use by buses.     

Three-lane changing behaviour simulation using a modified optimal velocity model

In real urban traffic, roadways are usually multilane and are divided into fast, medium and slow lanes according to different velocity restrictions. Microscopic modelling of single lane has been studied widely using discrete cellular automata and continuous optimal velocity models. In this paper, we extend the continuous single-lane models (OV model and FVD model) to simulate the lane-changing behaviour on an urban roadway that consists of three lanes. Considering headway difference, velocity difference, safety distance, and the probability of lane-changing intention, a comprehensive lane-changing rule set is constructed. We analyse the fundamental diagram and reveal the “faster-is-slower” effect in urban traffic induced by lane-changing behaviour. We also investigate the effect of lane-changing behaviour on the distribution of vehicles, velocity, flow and headway. Asymmetrical phenomenon with symmetrical rules on urban roadway and density inversion on the slow lane were also found. The simulation results indicate that lane-changing behaviour is not advisable on crowded urban roadway. It is hoped that information from this study may be useful for traffic control and individual moving strategy on urban roadway.     

A cellular automata model for highway traffic

We present results relative to a simple cellular automata model without periodic boundary conditions for an highway with on-ramps. Simulations performed with this model reproduce experimental phenomena observed in traffic such as free flow, synchronized flow, congested flow, lane inversion, forward and backward propagating waves. On-ramps play the important role of nucleation points for the dynamic features of traffic. Received 4 February 2000 and Received in final form 5 May 2000     

The Korteweg-de Vries soliton in the lattice hydrodynamic model

The lattice hydrodynamic model is not only a simplified version of the macroscopic hydrodynamic model, but is also closely connected with the microscopic car following model. The modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation about the density wave in congested traffic 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 in the car following model. So we devote ourselves to obtaining the KdV equation from the lattice hydrodynamic model and obtaining the KdV soliton solution describing the traffic jam. Numerical simulation is conducted, to demonstrate the nonlinear analysis result.     

Second-order phase transition in two-dimensional cellular automaton model of traffic flow containing road sections

Two-dimensional cellular automaton model has been broadly researched for traffic flow, as it reveals the main characteristics of the traffic networks in cities. Based on the BML models, a first-order phase transition occurs between the low-density moving phase in which all cars move at maximal speed and the high-density jammed phase in which all cars are stopped. However, it is not a physical result of a realistic system. We propose a new traffic rule in a two-dimensional traffic flow model containing road sections, which reflects that a car cannot enter into a road crossing if the road section in front of the crossing is occupied by another car. The simulation results reveal a second-order phase transition that separates the free flow phase from the jammed phase. In this way the system will not be entirely jammed (“don’t block the box” as in New York City).     

考虑意外事件对交通流影响的元胞自动机交通流模型

在NaSh模型的基础上,考虑交通事故和养护路段等意外事件对高速公路交通流的影响,建立了有意外事件影响的在车道管制下的高速公路交通流元胞自动机模型,并进行数值模拟. 研究发现:意外事件对高速公路交通流有明显影响,并且意外事件对交通流的影响在某一密度值范围内尤其明显,且意外事件堵塞点在第一车道比在第二车道对交通流的影响小;同时,在该密度值范围内,意外事件堵塞时间和堵塞路段长度越长,对交通流的影响就越大. 关键词： 元胞自动机 交通流 意外事件     

Periodic states, local effects and coexistence in the BML traffic jam model

The Biham-Middleton-Levine (BML) model is simple lattice model of traffic flow, self-organization and jamming. Rather than a sharp phase transition between free-flow and jammed, it was recently shown that there is a region where stable intermediate states exist, with details dependent on the aspect ratio of the underlying lattice. Here we investigate square aspect ratios, focusing on the region where random, disordered intermediate (DI) states and conventional global jam (GJ) states coexist, and show that DI states dominate for some densities and timescales. Moreover, we show that periodic intermediate (PI) states can also coexist. PI states converge to periodic limit cycles with short recurrence times and were previously conjectured to arise from idiosyncrasies of relatively prime aspect ratios. The observed coexistence of DI, PI and GJ states shows that global parameters, density together with aspect ratio, are not sufficient to determine the full jamming outcome. We investigate additional features that lead towards jamming and show that a strategic perturbation of a few selected bits can change the nature of the flow, nucleating a global jam.     

A new lattice hydrodynamic model accounting for the traffic interruption probability on a gradient highway

In this paper, a novel lattice hydrodynamic model is presented by accounting for the traffic interruption probability on a gradient highway. The stability condition can be obtained by the use of linear analysis. Linear analysis demonstrates that the traffic interruption probability and the slope will affect the stability region. Through nonlinear analysis, the mKdV equation is derived to describe the phase transition of traffic flow. Furthermore, the numerical simulation is carried out, and the results are consistent with the analytical results. Numerical results demonstrate that the traffic flow can be efficiently improved by accounting for the traffic interruption probability on a gradient highway.