Traffic assignment in communication satellites

A high capacity communication satellite interconnects scores of ground stations simultaneously. Under the Satellite-Switched/Time Division Multiple Access (SS/TDMA) system, each channel of the satellite is allocated to a pair of ground stations for a certain time period, after which the whole set of allocations (called a switch) is changed simultaneously. The problem we address is to minimize the time length of the entire sequence of switches, subject to a limit on the number of switches. We formulate this as a 3-index bottleneck-sum assignment problem, and solve it by a heuristic that obtains consistently better results than earlier methods based on different formulations.     

Traffic dispersion induced by noise in off-lattice model

We study the dispersion of vehicles induced by speed fluctuation on a single-lane highway under open boundary. We extend the cellular automaton model on one-dimensional lattice to the real-variable model on off-lattice (continuous-in space model) in order to take into account the fluctuation of vehicular speed. Vehicles extend over the highway when moving forward. The characteristics of traffic dispersion are derived. It is shown that vehicular traffic exhibits scaling property. When a vehicle accelerates for following the vehicle ahead, vehicles move forming a cluster without dispersion. The relationship between the width of vehicular cluster and acceleration rate is clarified.     

Numerical simulation of soliton and kink density waves in traffic flow with periodic boundaries

The soliton and kink–antikink density waves are simulated with periodic boundaries, by adding perturbation in the initial condition on single-lane road based on a car-following model. They are reproduced in the form of the space–time evolution of headway, both of which propagate backwards. It is found that the solitons appear only near the neutral stability line regardless of the boundary conditions, and they exhibit upward form when the initial headway is smaller than the safety distance, otherwise they exhibit downward form. Comparison is made between the numerical and analytical results about the amplitude of kink–antikink wave, and the underlying mechanism is analyzed. Besides, it is indicated that the maximal current of traffic flow increases with decreasing safety distance. The numerical simulation shows a good agreement with the analytical results.     

An improved cellular automaton model with the consideration of a multi-point tollbooth

Based on the classical Nagel–Schreckenberg model, we in this paper propose an improved cellular automaton (CA) model to study the influences of a multi-point tollbooth on traffic flow. The numerical results show that the multi-point tollbooth can be looked at as a bottleneck and that it can improve the road capacity compared with other tolling stations, which shows that the proposed model is more effective than other traffic flow models. In addition, the results can help readers to better understand the effects of a multi-point tollbooth on traffic flow and help traffic engineers to reasonably design the tolling station.     

Optimization of transport protocols in complex networks

In this paper, an optimal routing strategy is proposed to enhance the traffic capacity of complex networks. In order to avoid nodes overloading, the new algorithm is derived on the basis of generalized betweenness centrality which gives an estimate of traffic handled by the node for a route set. Since the nodes with large betweenness centrality are more susceptible to traffic congestion, the traffic can be improved, as our strategy, by redistributing traffic load from nodes with large betweenness centrality to nodes with small betweenness centrality in the proceeding of computing collective routing table. Particularly, depending on a parameter that controls the optimization scale, the new routing can not only enlarge traffic capacity of networks more, but also enhance traffic efficiency with smaller average path length. Comparing results of previous routing strategies, it is shown that the present improved routing performs more effectively.     

Biham–Middleton–Levine model with four-directional traffic

We study the four-directional traffic flow on a two-dimensional lattice. In the case of discrete densities, we assume equal number of vehicles in each lane. Except for the minimum density, the gridlock emerges swiftly. Two kinds of gridlock have been observed. The global gridlock dominates the system when the density is twice the minimum value. At higher densities, the system is pervaded by local gridlocks. We also analyze the time evolution of average speed. In the case of continuous densities, the vehicle numbers vary from lane to lane. The global gridlock is then destroyed by the fluctuations; while the local gridlock can still be observed.     

Phase diagram of speed gradient model with an on-ramp

In this paper, phase transitions are investigated in speed gradient model with an on-ramp. Phase diagrams of traffic flow composed of manually driven vehicles and adaptive cruise control (ACC) vehicles are studied, respectively. The traffic flow composed of ACC vehicles is modeled by enhancing propagation speed of small disturbance. The phase diagram of traffic flow composed of manually driven vehicles is similar to that in previous works, in which such states as pinned localized cluster (PLC), moving localized cluster (MLC), triggered stop-and-go traffic (TSG), oscillatory congested traffic (OCT), and homogeneous congested traffic (HCT) are reproduced. In the phase diagram of traffic flow composed of ACC vehicles, traffic stability is enhanced and such states as PLC, MLC, and TSG disappear. Furthermore, some interesting phenomena, such as stationary OCT upstream of on-ramp and appearance of second OCT in HCT, are identified.     

Estimation of increases in noise levels due to installation of transverse rumble strips on urban roads

Increases in noise due to the installation of transverse rumble strips were investigated, by first measuring noise due single vehicles crossing a pilot test field with and without a rumble strip. After that, a procedure was proposed and carried out to estimate increases in noise due to the traffic of vehicles, based on the measurements previously mentioned. This procedure was checked against expressions from the literature that estimate traffic noise as well as measurements in three arterial urban roads without rumble strips installed. Its accuracy was compatible with the ones obtained by applying the literature expressions, the errors lying below 3 dB(A). Then, by taking the aforementioned roads as case studies, estimations were carried out for the increases that would occur in noise levels if rumble strips were installed on them, leading to values between 6 and 7 dB(A). Although such values are dependent on the configuration of the rumble strip employed, the proposed procedure presents generality and could be applied to estimate increases in traffic noise due to installation of rumble strips, by departing from measurements of noise due to single vehicles obtained for a given rumble strip configuration.     

The complementary unboundedness of dual feasible solution sets in convex programming

F.E. Clark has shown that if at least one of the feasible solution sets for a pair of dual linear programming problems is nonempty then at least one of them is both nonempty and unbounded. Subsequently, M. Avriel and A.C. Williams have obtained the same result in the more general context of (prototype posynomial) geometric programming. In this paper we show that the same result is actually false in the even more general context of convex programming — unless a certain regularity condition is satisfied.We also show that the regularity condition is so weak that it is automatically satisfied in linear programming (prototype posynomial) geometric programming, quadratic programming (with either linear or quadratic constraints),l _p -regression analysis, optimal location, roadway network analysis, and chemical equilibrium analysis. Moreover, we develop an equivalent regularity condition for each of the usual formulations of duality.Research sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Systems Command, USAF, under Grant Number AFOSR-73-2516.