Introduction to Transportation Engineering

Traffic Flow Models

Dr. Antonio A. Trani

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, Virginia
Fall 2009

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 Topics for Discussion

Why modeling traffic?

Approaches to model traffic
Parameters connected with traffic flow
What role do vehicle dynamic/kinematic equations play?
Examples

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 Why Traffic Modeling?

Required to estimate capacity of any transportation

facility
Highway capacity - how many cars per hour?
Railway capacity - how many rail cars per hour
Airport capacity - how many aircraft can land per hour?

Required to estimate level of service of transportation

facilities
a) Level of service is connected with delays imposed by the
system on vehicles and people

To study impacts of our own actions (building

infrastructure)

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 A Difficult Problem to Understand

Traffic phenomena is complex

Traffic phenomena is usually a stochastic process
(described by random variables)
Los Alamos (New Mexico) statement:
Modeling traffic phenomena has proven to be more difficult
than predicting and modeling sub-atomic level reactions
inside the atom - for nuclear warhead simulations
Statement after four years of work developing the newest
traffic and transportation planning software package
called TRANSIMS

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 Approaches to Modeling Traffic

Microscopic
Attempts to look into individual driving behaviors
Vehicle-following models

Macroscopic
Looks at the traffic as a fluid-flow or heat-transfer
phenomena
Vehicles are not identified individually but as a group of
entities moving on the system

Technically, both microscopic and macroscopic models

consider the human in their solutions

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 Parameters Connected with Traffic Models

Speed
Volume and Rate of Flow
Density or Concentration
Spacing and Headway
Clearance and Gap

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 How Do We Collect Traffic Data?

External devices
Road traffic counters (loop detectors)
Traffic data collectors
Radar guns
Weight-in-Motion
Internal devices (in-vehicle technology)
GPS data collection devices
Car chip collectors
Speed transducer collectors

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 Loop Detectors

Hardware/software application
Measures traffic volume, time stamp, speed, gap

source: Sensource

source: Jamar Technologies

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 Traffic Data Collectors

Measure traffic data at intersections (turning movements),

vehicle delays, queue lengths, saturation flows
Can be connected to software to expedite the analysis

TDC-12
source: Jamar Technologies

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 RADAR/LIDAR Technology

Measures spot speed (instantaneous speed)

Used in law-enforcement and also in traffic studies

RADAR System
LIDAR System source: Stalker Radar Systems

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 Video Traffic Monitoring

Used in incident detection (hardware/software)

Can measure real-time (or stored) traffic data; including
volume, occupancy, speed and vehicle class over time

source: Autoscope Systems

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 Vehicle Collection (Car Chip)

Measures up to five vehicle parameters

Good to monitor driver behavior (or traffic analysis)
Downloads data to a PC

source: http://www.thecarchip.net/

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 Weight-in-Motion (WIM) Devices

Measure vehicle weight

Good to measure road infrastructure use and deterioration

source: Virginia Tech

Transportation Institute

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 GPS Data Collectors

Measure vehicle performance parameters

Good for traffic behavioral studies
Used in vehicle tracking (fleet applications)

source: cybergraphy

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 Sample GPS Data

Sample data collected in Phoenix, AZ

Using Global Positioning System technology
Smoothed speed is sometimes necessary to remove data
outliers

Smoothed Acceleration
Time (s) Speed (km/h) Speed (km/h) (m/s2) Fuel (l/s) HC (mg/s) CO (mg/s) NO
0 41.43 41.43 0.00 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000
2 41.43 41.43 0.00 0.00268 2.36032 37.23742
4 52.11 45.17 0.52 0.00344 3.12970 56.08933
6 55.60 48.82 0.51 0.00363 3.40516 63.20015
8 58.92 52.35 0.49 0.00381 3.69682 70.53934
10 60.76 55.30 0.41 0.00386 3.83389 73.50874
12 61.86 57.59 0.32 0.00385 3.89856 74.39976
14 66.28 60.63 0.42 0.00421 4.46872 88.83619
16 65.73 62.42 0.25 0.00401 4.29287 82.74030
18 65.91 63.64 0.17 0.00395 4.27326 81.33448

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 Sample GPS Car Data

Data collected in Phoenix driving on arterial roads

100
Raw Speed
90
Smoothed Speed
80

70
Speed (km/h)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Time (s)

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 Phoenix Car Data (Detail)

Data collected in Phoenix driving on arterial roads

100
Raw Speed
90
Smoothed Speed
80

70
Speed (km/h)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
100 150 200 250
Time (s)

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 Sample GPS Car Data

Data collected in Phoenix driving on arterial roads

100
Raw Speed
90
Smoothed Speed
80

70
Speed (km/h)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Time (s)

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 Sample Traffic Data

Data collected at various locations

Holland (Beltway)
Germany (Autobahn)
U.S. (I-4)

These plots demonstrate how speed (u), density (k) and

flow (q) are related

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 Highway 401 Data (U.S.)

The data shows the basic relationship between speed (u)

and flow (q)

Data courtesy of Dr. H. Rakha (VTTI)

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 Highway 401 Data (U.S.)

The plot shows the basic form of the density-speed

relationship

Data courtesy of Dr. H. Rakha (VTTI)

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 Highway 401 Data (U.S.)

Basic Density vs. Flow Relationship

Data courtesy of Dr. H. Rakha (VTTI)

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 Autobahn Data (Germany)

The data shows the basic relationship between speed (u)

and flow (q)

Data courtesy of Dr. H. Rakha (VTTI)

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 Autobahn Data (Germany)

The plot shows the basic form of the density-speed

relationship

Data courtesy of Dr. H. Rakha (VTTI)

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 Autobahn Data (Germany)

Basic density (k) vs. flow (q) relationship

Data courtesy of Dr. H. Rakha (VTTI)

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 Macroscopic Traffic Flow Models

We cover two basic models:

Greenshield
Greenberg
In all traffic flow models, the following fundamental
traffic flow equation applies,
q = uk (1)

where: q is the traffic flow (vehicles/hr per lane), u is the

flow speed (km/hr) and k is the flow density (vehicles per
lane-km)

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 Greenshields Model (circa 1936)

Assumes a linear relationship between flow speed (u) and

flow density (k)
u
Speed[km/h] Free-flow speed

k
uf u = u f 1 ---
k j

Jam density

kj k
Density [veh/km-lane]

k
q = u k = u f 1 ---- k (2)
k j

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 Greenshields Model

2
k
q = u f k ----- (3)
kj

Flow[veh/h] Maximum flow

qm k 2
q = u f k ----
kj

Jam density

Density [veh/km]

0 km kj k

where: k m is the density for maximum flow and q m is the

maximum flow.

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 Greenshields Model

The condition for maximum flow (qm) is achieved when,

kj
km = ---
2

uf
um = ----
2
(4)

Then
uf kj
qm = --------- (5)
4

Prove this relationship using calculus.

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 Greenbergs Model (circa 1959)

Assumes a nonlinear relationship between flow speed (u)

and flow density (k)
kj
u = c ln ----
(6)
k
kj
q = u k = c k ln ---- (7)
k

where: k j is the jam density, c is a model constant (later

to be proven the speed for maximum flow), u is the
space mean speed (just like in other models) and k is the
flow density.
(8)

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 Greenbergs Model

Use calculus to prove that,

kj
km = ----
e
(9)

is the density for maximum flow.

You can also prove that the speed for maximum flow
occurs at,

um = c (10)

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 Greenbergs Model

Since the relationship q = u k for all traffic flow

conditions, the condition for maximum flow (qm) is,

ck
qm = ------
j (11)
e
Prove this relationship using calculus.

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 Example 1

The Blacksburg Middle school board hires you as a

transportation engineer to ease complaints from parents
driving vehicles and making a left turn to the school
entrance during the peak hour in the morning (see Figure
1).
The road is divided and has a left turn queueing island
allowing cars to stop before making the turn.
Measurements at the road by the town engineer indicate
that traffic flow in this section has a jam density of 70
veh/km-lane and the free flow speed of 50 km/hr
(restricted by the speed limit). Assume Greenshields
model traffic flow conditions hold true.

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 School
Entrance Spacing = S

Traffic
To Blacksburg R = 12 m. Car Counters

Car
To Radford

FIGURE 1. Blacksburg Middle School Traffic Situation.

The typical acceleration model for a car is known to be:

a = 4.0 0.1V

where: a is the acceleration of the car (in m/s2) and V is

the vehicle speed in m/s. During the morning peak period,
traffic counters at the site measure an average of 20

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vehicles per kilometer per lane traveling from Radford to
Blacksburg (see Figure 1).

a) Find the typical spacing (S) and the average headway

(h) between vehicles traveling from Radford to
Blacksburg during the peak morning period.
b) Find if the average headway (h) allows a typical driver
to make a left turn if the driver has a perception/reaction
time of 0.5 seconds. The radius of the curve to make a left
turn is 12 meters. According to AASHTO standards, the
critical vehicle length is 5.8 meters.

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 Solution to Part (a)

Find the Spacing (Sp) between vehicles. Since the density

of the traffic flow is known to be 20 veh/km-la we
compute the spacing as the reciprocal of the density

1 1
S p = --- = ------ = 0.05 kilometers
k 20
Sp = 50 meters

To find the headway we need to figure out how fast the

cars are traveling on the road. We use Greenshields
model to estimate the speed when k = 20 veh/km-la.

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 Space Mean Speed vs. Density Diagram
u (km/hr) uf = 50 km/hr (13.89 m/s)
50 kj = 70 veh/km-la

37.5

0
20 70 k (veh/km-la)

uf 50
u = u f ---k = 50 ------ ( 20 ) = 35.71 km/hr
kj 70

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 Solution to Part (a)

Traveling at 35.71 km/hr (9.92 m/s) the headway (h)

between successive cars is,

50
h = ---------- = 5.04 seconds
9.92

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 Solution to Part (b)

To check if the turning vehicle can make a safe maneuver,

check the time to turn against the headway (h) calculated
in part (a). Account for the reaction time of the turning
vehicle.
The time available to execute a safe turn is (h) - 0.5
seconds to account for reaction time,

t available = 5.04 0.5 = 4.54 seconds

Technically we should use the gap between two
successive vehicles to estimate the time to turn left. In this
case we have to subtract the time traveled by the
oncoming vehicle to cover its car length at 9.92 m/s

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 5.8
t gap = 5.04 0.5 ---------- = 3.96 seconds
9.92
The distance traveled by a vehicle with a linearly-varying
acceleration model is,

k1
k 1 t ---- k t v0 k t
S = ------ -2 ( 1 e ) + ---- ( 1 e )
2 2

k2 k2 k2
Note that t is either 3.96 or 4.54 seconds (depending on
your assumption on when the stopped vehicle starts the
left turn).

Using values of k 1 , k 2 of 4 and 0.1, respectively, the left

turning vehicle travels 35.6 meters in 4.54 seconds and 28
meters in 3.96 seconds.
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A plot of distance traveled vs. time is shown in the
following diagram. The total distance to be traveled in the
left turn maneuver to reach a safe point is,

2R 2 ( 12 )
d = ---------- + L = ----------------- + 5.8 = 24.65 meters
4 4
The vehicle can execute the turn safely.

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Distance vs. Time Profile (Turning Car)

The car reaches 24.65 m in 3.73 seconds

The car travels 35.65 m in 4.54 seconds

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Differentiation of Speeds Used in Traffic Analysis

Two types of speed sused in traffic analyses:

time-mean speed
space-mean speed

The time-mean speed u is defined in the following way:

t

N
1
u t = ----
N u
i=1
i (12)

where u represents recorded speed of the i-th vehicle.

i

We see that the time-mean speed can be calculated by

calculating the arithmetic time mean speed.

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 Space Mean Speed

The space-mean speed is the average speed that has been

used in the majority of traffic models. Let us note a section
of the highway whose length equals D. We denote by t i

the time needed by the i-th vehicle to travel along this

highway section. The space-mean speed u is defined in s

the following way:

D D
u s = -------------------
N
- = ---- (13)
1 t
----
N i=1
ti

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 N

The expression ---1- t represents the average travel time t

i
N
i=1

of the vehicles traveling along the observed highway

section.

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 Example 2

Measurement points are located at the beginning and at

the end of the highway section whose length equals 1 km
(see figure below). The recorded speeds and travel times
are shown in the Table.

1 km

A Measurement points B

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 Example 2

Table 1. Recorded speeds and travel times.

Vehicle number Speed at point A [km/h] Travel time between point A
and point B [sec]
1 80 45
2 75 50
3 62 56
4 90 39
5 70 53

Speeds of the five vehicles are recorded at the beginning

of the section (point A). The vehicle appearance at point A
and point B were also recorded.
a) Calculate the time-mean speed and the space-mean
speed.
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 Solution to Example 2

The time-mean speed u at point A is:

t

N
1
u t = ----
N u
i=1
i

1 1 km
u t = --- ( 80 + 75 + 62 + 90 + 70 ) = --- 377 = 75.4 -------
5 5 h

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 Solution to Example 2

The space-mean speed represents measure of the average

traffic speed along the observed highway section. The
space-mean speed is:

D
u s = -------------------
N
-
1
----
N i=1
ti

The total travel time for all five vehicles is:

243
45 + 50 + 56 + 39 + 53 = 243 [ sec onds ] = ------------ [ h ] = 0.0675 [ h ] .
3600

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The space-mean speed is calculated as:

1 km km
u s = ----------------------------- ------- = 74.07 -------
1
--- ( 0.0675 ) h h
5

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