Traffic Flow Fundamentals

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1
TRAFFIC FLOW PARAMETER
RELATIONSHIPS
CIVHWAY notes of AM Fillone, DLSU-Manila
Mathematical Relationships Describing Traffic Flow
Macroscopic Approach
The macroscopic approach considers traffic streams and
develops algorithms that relate the flow to the density and
space mean speeds.
The two most commonly used macroscopic models are the
Greenshields and Greenberg models.
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Greenshields Model
Greenshields carried out one of the earliest recorded works, in
which he studied the relationship between speed and density
He hypothesized that a linear relationship existed between speed
and density, which he expressed as
u
s
= u
f
(u
f
/k
j
) k (6.11)
Corresponding relationships for flow and density and for flow and
speed can be developed. Since q =u
s
k, substituting q /u for k in
Eq. 6.11 gives
u
s
2
= u
f
u
s
- (u
f
/k
j
) q (6.12)
Also substituting q/k for u
s
in Eq. 6.11 gives
q = u
f
k (u
f
/k
j
) k
2
(6.13)
Equations 6.12 and 6.13 indicate that if a linear relationship in the
form of Eq. 6.11 is assumed for speed and density, then parabolic
relationships are obtained between flow and density and between
flow and speed.
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Considering Eq. 6.12, differentiating q with respect to u
s
, we
obtain
2u
s
= u
f
(u
f
/k
j
) (dq/du
s
)
that is
dq/du
s
= u
f
(k
j
/u
f
) 2u
s
(k
j
/u
f
) = k
j
- 2u
s
(k
j
/u
f
)
for maximum flow
dq/du
s
= 0, k
j
=2u
s
k
j
/u
f
, u
o
= u
f
/2 (6.14)
Thus, the space mean speed u
o
at which the volume is maximum is
equal to half the free mean speed.
Consider Eq. 6.13
q = u
f
k (u
f
/k
j
) k
2
Differentiating q with respect to k, we obtain
dq/dk = u
f
2k(u
f
/k
j
)
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For maximum flow,
dq/dk = 0
u
f
= 2k(u
f
/k
j
) (6.15)
k
j
/2 = k
o
Thus, at the maximum flow, the density ko is half the jam density.
The maximum flow for the Greenshields relationship can therefore
be obtained
q
max
= k
j
u
f
/ 4 (6.16)
Greenberg Model
Several researchers have used the analogy of fluid flow to develop
macroscopic relationships for traffic flow. One of the major
contributions using the fluid-flow analogy was developed by
Greenberg in the form
u
s
= c ln (k
j
/k) (6.17)
q = ck ln (k
j
/k) (6.18)
Differentiating q with respect to k, we obtain
dq/dk = c ln (k
j
/k) c
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For maximum flow,
dq/dk = 0, ln k
j
/k = 1
giving
ln k
j
= 1 + ln k
o
(6.19)
that is
ln k
j
/k
o
= 1
Substituting 1 for ln (k
j
/k
o
) in Eq. 6.17 gives u
o
= c
Thus, the value of c is the speed at maximum flow.
Model Application
Calibration of Macroscopic Traffic Flow Models
The traffic models discussed thus far can be used to determine
specific characteristics such as the speed and density at which
maximum flow occurs and the jam density of a facility.
This usually involves collecting appropriate data on the particular
facility of interest and fitting the data points obtained to a suitable
model.
The most common method of approach is regression analysis.
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Linear Regression Analysis
If a dependent variable y and an independent variable x are related by
an estimated regression function, then
y = a + bx (6.20)
The constants a and b could be determined from Eqs. 6.21 and 6.22
n n
a = (1/n)
i=1
y
i
(b/n)
i=1
x
i
= y - bx (6.21)
and
n n n
i=1
x
i
y
i
(1/n)(
i=1
x
i
)(
i=1
y
i
)
b = ------------------------------------ (6.22)
n n
i=1
x
i
2
(1/n)(
i=1
x
i
)
2
where
n = number of sets of observations
x
i
= ith observation for x
y
i
= ith observation for y
A measure commonly used to determine the suitability of an
estimated regression function is the coefficient of determination R
2
,
which is given by
n
i=1
(Y
i
- y)
2
R
2
= ----------------- (6.23)
n
i=1(
y
i
-y)
2
where
Y
i
is the value of the dependent variable as computed from the
regression equations.
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Example
Fitting Speed and Density Data to the Greenshields Model
Let us use the data shown in Table 6.1 (columns 1 and 2) to
demonstrate the use of the method of regression analysis in fitting
speed and density data to the macroscopic models discussed.
Table 6.1a Speed and Density Observations at a Rural Road
Using the Greenshields expression, u
s
= u
f
(u
f
/k
j
) k
Comparing this expression with our estimated regression function,
Eq.6.20, we see that the speed u
s
in the Greenshields expression is
represented by y in the estimated regression function, the mean free
speed u
f
is represented by a, and the value of the mean free speed u
f
divided by the jam density k
j
is represented by b. We therefore
obtain
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y
i
= 404.8 x
i
= 892 y = 28.91
x
i
y
i
= 20,619.8 x
i
2
= 66,628.0 x = 63.71
Using Eqs. 6.21 and Eq. 6.22, we obtain
a = 28.91 63.71 b
20,619.8 (892)(404.8)/14
b = ------------------------------------- = - 0.53
66,628 (892)
2
/14
or a = 28.91 63.71 (- 0.53) = 62.68
Since a = 62.68 and b = - 0.53, then u
f
= 62.56 mph, and so u
f
/k
j
=
0.53, k
j
= 118 vpm,
and u
s
= 62.68 0.53k
Using Eq. 6.23 to determine the value of R
2
, we obtain R
2
= 0.95.
Using the above estimated values for u
f
and k
j
, we can determine
the maximum flow
from Eq. 6.16 as
q
max
= k
f
u
f
/ 4 = 118 (62.68) / 4 = 1849 vph
Using Eq. 6.14 we also obtain the velocity at which flow is
maximum, that is, (62.68/2) = 31.3 mph, and using Eq. 6.15, the
density at which flow is maximum, or (118/2) = 59 vph.
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Greenberg Model
The data in Table 6.1b can also be fitted into the Greenberg model
shown in Eq. 6.17:
u
s
= c ln (k
j
/k)
which can be written as
u
s
= c ln k
j
c link
Solution:
Comparing Eq. 6.24 and the estimated regression function Eq. 6.20, we
see thatu
s
in the Greenberg expression is represented by y in the
estimated regression function, c ln k
j
is represented by a, c is
represented by b, and ln k is represented by x. Table 6.1b shows the
values of x
i
, x
i
y
i
, and
(b) computation for Example 6.2
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a = 28.91 4.05b
1547.02 (56.72)(404.8)/14
b = ---------------------------------------- = - 28.68
233.04 (56.72)
2
/14
or a = 28.91 4.05 (-28.68) = 145.06
Since a = 145.06 and b = -28.68, the speed for maximum flow is c =
28.68 mph. Finally, since
c ln k
j
= 145.06
ln k
j
= 5.06
k
j
= 157 vpm
Then
u
s
= 28.68 ln 157 / k
Obtaining k
o
, the density for maximum flow from Eq. 6.19, we then
use Eq. 6.18 to determine the value of the maximum flow.
ln k
j
= 1 + ln k
o
ln 158 = 1 + ln k
o
5.06 = 1 + ln k
o
k
o
= 58.0
q
max
= 58.0 x 28.68 vph
q
max
= 1663 vph
The R
2
based on the Greenberg expression is 0.9, which indicates that
the Greenshields expression is a better fit for the data in Table 6.1.
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11
Example: The data shown below were obtained by time-elapse
photography on a highway. Use regression analysis to fit these
data to the Greenshields model and determine (a) the mean free
speed, (b) the jam density, (c) the capacity, and (d) the speed at
maximum flow.
Speed (mi/h) Density (veh/mi)
14.2 85
24.1 70
30.3 55
40.1 41
50.6 20
55.0 15
Speed
(mi/h)
Density
(veh/mi)
x
i
y
i
x
2
14.2 85
24.1 70
30.3 55
40.1 41
50.6 20
55.0 15
Solution:
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n n
a = (1/n)
i=1
y
i
(b/n)
i=1
x
i
= y - bx
n n n
i=1
x
i
y
i
(1/n)(
i=1
x
i
)(
i=1
y
i
)
b = ------------------------------------
n n
i=1
x
i
2
(1/n)(
i=1
x
i
)
2

Traffic Flow Fundamentals

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1/22/2014

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