01109349

Component

Traffic flow is a kind of many-body system of strongly interacting vehicles. Traffic jams are a typical signature of the complex behavior of vehicular traffic. Various mathematical models are presented to understand the rich variety of physical phenomena exhibited by traffic. This paper provides an overview of what is currently the state-of-the-art with respect to traffic flow theory. Starting with a brief history about vehicular traffic flows, it discusses the Greenshields, Greenberg’s, Gurein’s, etc., models. This paper also discusses some basic relations between traffic flow characteristics, i.e., the fundamental diagrams; speed, volume, and density relationships; hydrodynamic analogies; and traffic hump formation (shock wave), and sheds some light on the different points of view adopted by the traffic engineering community. Moving on, it reviews some performance indicators that allow one to assess the quality of traffic operations. A final part of this paper gives the probabilistic description of traffic flow, distribution of vehicles on a road.

01109339

English

19p

2008

Symposium on the Fundamental Diagram: 75 Years (Greenshields 75 Symposium)

CD-ROM

Figures (9) ; References (17) ; Tables (1)

History; Mathematical models; Speed volume relationships; State of the art; Traffic flow theory

Fundamental diagram; Shock waves (Highway traffic)

Highways; History; Operations and Traffic Management; I71: Traffic Theory

TRIS, TRB

Aug 25 2008 8:11AM

• A Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram of Urban Traffic: Recent Findings
• A Simple and Pragmatic Representation of Traffic Flow
• Airborne Traffic Flow Data and Traffic Management
• Calibrating Speed-Density Functions for Mesoscopic Traffic Simulation
• Calibration of Steady-State Car-Following Models Using Macroscopic Loop Detector Data
• Empirical Relation Between Stochastic Capacities and Capacities Obtained from the Speed-Flow Diagram
• Foundations of Traffic Flow Theory I: Greenshields' Legacy – Highway Traffic
• From Inductance Loops to Vehicle Trajectories
• Fundamental Diagram for Signalized Arterials: An Empirical Analysis Using High-Resolution Traffic Data
• Fundamental Diagram on Urban Roads – Myth or Truth?
• Influence of Various Restrictions on Speed-Flow Models
• Investigation of LWR Model with Flux Function Driven by Random Free Flow Speed
• Measuring Traffic Flow Using Real-Time Data
• Quality of Service Beyond the Traditional Fundamental Diagram
• Strategies to Improve Dissipation into Destination Networks Using Macroscopic Network Flow Models
• The Anisotropic Mesoscopic Simulation Model on the Interrupted Highway Facilities
• Traffic Flow Prospectives: From Fundamental Diagram to Energy Balance