Traffic Flow On Transportation Networks

This book explains in detail the advantages and limitations of network analysis applied to transportation problems.

The understanding of empirical traf?c congestion occurring on unsignalized mul- lane highways and freeways is a key for effective traf?c management, control, or- nization, and other applications of transportation engineering. However, the traf?c ?ow theories and models that dominate up to now in transportation research journals and teaching programs of most universities cannot explain either traf?c breakdown or most features of the resulting congested patterns. These theories are also the - sis of most dynamic traf?c assignment models and freeway traf?c control methods, which therefore are not consistent with features of real traf?c. For this reason, the author introduced an alternative traf?c ?ow theory called three-phase traf?c theory, which can predict and explain the empirical spatiot- poral features of traf?c breakdown and the resulting traf?c congestion. A previous book “The Physics of Traf?c” (Springer, Berlin, 2004) presented a discussion of the empirical spatiotemporal features of congested traf?c patterns and of three-phase traf?c theory as well as their engineering applications. Rather than a comprehensive analysis of empirical and theoretical results in the ?eld, the present book includes no more empirical and theoretical results than are necessary for the understanding of vehicular traf?c on unsignalized multi-lane roads. The main objectives of the book are to present an “elementary” traf?c ?ow theory and control methods as well as to show links between three-phase traf?c t- ory and earlier traf?c ?ow theories. The need for such a book follows from many commentsofcolleaguesmadeafterpublicationofthebook“ThePhysicsofTraf?c”.

This book offers a detailed investigation of breakdowns in traffic and transportation networks. It shows empirically that transitions from free flow to so-called synchronized flow, initiated by local disturbances at network bottlenecks, display a nucleation-type behavior: while small disturbances in free flow decay, larger ones grow further and lead to breakdowns at the bottlenecks. Further, it discusses in detail the significance of this nucleation effect for traffic and transportation theories, and the consequences this has for future automatic driving, traffic control, dynamic traffic assignment, and optimization in traffic and transportation networks. Starting from a large volume of field traffic data collected from various sources obtained solely through measurements in real world traffic, the author develops his insights, with an emphasis less on reviewing existing methodologies, models and theories, and more on providing a detailed analysis of empirical traffic data and drawing consequences regarding the minimum requirements for any traffic and transportation theories to be valid. The book - proves the empirical nucleation nature of traffic breakdown in networks - discusses the origin of the failure of classical traffic and transportation theories - shows that the three-phase theory is incommensurable with the classical traffic theories, and - explains why current state-of-the art dynamic traffic assignments tend to provoke heavy traffic congestion, making it a valuable reference resource for a wide audience of scientists and postgraduate students interested in the fundamental understanding of empirical traffic phenomena and related data-driven phenomenology, as well as for practitioners working in the fields of traffic and transportation engineering.

Flows in Transportation Networks

This book presents many valuable tips for making decisions related to traffic flow in the transport networks. The knowledge base in practical examples, as well as the decision support systems described in this book, finds interest among people who face the daily challenge of searching for solutions to the problems of contemporary transport networks and systems. The publication is therefore addressed to local authorities related to the planning and development of development strategies for selected areas with regard to transport (both in the urban and regional dimension) and to representatives of business and industry, as people directly involved in the implementation of traffic engineering solutions. The tips contained in individual sections of the publication allow to look at a given problem in an advanced way and facilitate the selection of the appropriate strategy (among others, in relation to the evaluation of BEV and FCHEV electric vehicles in the creation of a sustainable transport systems, development of ecological public transport on the example of selected cities, impact of drivers' waiting time on the gap acceptance at median, uncontrolled T-intersections). In turn, due to a new approach to theoretical models (including, inter alia, the application of genetic algorithms for the planning of urban rail transportation system, comprehensive estimate of life cycle costs of new technical systems using reliability verification algorithm, application and comparison of machine learning algorithms in traffic signals prediction), the publication also interests scientists and researchers carrying out research in this area.