01126589

Component

Traffic dynamics at a merging junction can be numerically solved with discrete conservation equations and so-called supply-demand methods. In this paper, the authors first introduce a continuous multi-commodity kinematic wave model of merging traffic and then develop a new framework for constructing the solutions to its Riemann problem with jump initial conditions. In the supply-demand space, the solutions on a link consist of an interior state and a stationary state, subject to admissible conditions such that there are no positive and negative kinematic waves on the upstream and downstream links respectively. In addition, the solutions have to satisfy entropy conditions defined by the supply-demand method in the interior states and a corresponding distribution scheme. For a merging junction with two upstream links, the authors prove that the stationary states and boundary fluxes exist and are unique for the Riemann problem for both fair and constant distribution schemes. With a numerical example, the authors demonstrate that the boundary fluxes converge to the analytical solutions at any positive time when we decrease the period of a time interval.

01120148

09-2404

English

25p

2009

Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting

DVD

Appendices (2) ; Figures (12) ; References (23)

Demand; Kinematics; Merging traffic; Operations; Supply

Downstream traffic; Freeway traffic dynamics; Kinematic wave theory; Riemann problem; Upstream traffic

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2009 Paper #09-2404

TRIS, TRB

Jan 30 2009 6:45PM