IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transb/v45y2011i5p782-788.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the macroscopic stability of freeway traffic

Author

Listed:
  • Daganzo, Carlos F.

Abstract

A simple model of traffic flow is used to analyze the spatio-temporal distribution of flow and density on closed-loop homogeneous freeways with many ramps, which produce inflows and allow outflows. As we would expect, if the on-ramp demand is space-independent then this distribution tends toward uniformity in space if the freeway is either: (i) uncongested; or (ii) congested with queues on its on-ramps and enough inflow to cause the average freeway density to increase with time. In all other cases, however, including any recovery phase of a rush hour where the freeway's average density declines, the distribution of flow and density quickly becomes uneven. This happens even under conditions of perfect symmetry, where the percentage of vehicles exiting at every off ramp is the same. The flow-density deviations from the average are shown to grow exponentially in time and propagate backwards in space with a fixed wave speed. A consequence of this type of instability is that, during recovery, gaps of uncongested traffic will quickly appear in the unevenly congested stream, reducing average flow. This extends the duration of recovery and invariably creates clockwise hysteresis loops on scatter-plots of average system flow vs. density during any rush hour that oversaturates the freeway. All these effects are quantified with formulas and verified with simulations. Some have been observed in real networks. In a more practical vein, it is also shown that the negative effects of instability diminish (i.e., freeway flows increase) if (a) some drivers choose to exit the freeway prematurely when it is too congested and/or (b) freeway access is regulated in a certain traffic-responsive way. These two findings could be used to improve the algorithms behind VMS displays for driver guidance (finding a), and on-ramp metering rates (finding b).

Suggested Citation

  • Daganzo, Carlos F., 2011. "On the macroscopic stability of freeway traffic," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 782-788, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transb:v:45:y:2011:i:5:p:782-788
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191-2615(11)00015-4
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Olszewski, Piotr & Fan, Henry S. L. & Tan, Yan-Weng, 1995. "Area-wide traffic speed-flow model for the Singapore CBD," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 273-281, July.
    2. Newell, G. F., 1993. "A simplified theory of kinematic waves in highway traffic, part III: Multi-destination flows," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 305-313, August.
    3. Cassidy, Michael J. & Bertini, Robert L., 1999. "Some traffic features at freeway bottlenecks," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 25-42, February.
    4. Geroliminis, Nikolas & Daganzo, Carlos F., 2008. "Existence of urban-scale macroscopic fundamental diagrams: Some experimental findings," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 759-770, November.
    5. Daganzo, Carlos F., 1995. "The cell transmission model, part II: Network traffic," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 79-93, April.
    6. Daganzo, Carlos F. & Gayah, Vikash V. & Gonzales, Eric J., 2011. "Macroscopic relations of urban traffic variables: Bifurcations, multivaluedness and instability," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 278-288, January.
    7. Gayah, Vikash V. & Daganzo, Carlos F., 2010. "Exploring the Effect of Turning Maneuvers and Route Choice ona Simple Network," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt6kg0d8ds, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    8. Laval, Jorge A. & Daganzo, Carlos F., 2006. "Lane-changing in traffic streams," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 251-264, March.
    9. Siamak Ardekani & Robert Herman, 1987. "Urban Network-Wide Traffic Variables and Their Relations," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 1-16, February.
    10. Paul I. Richards, 1956. "Shock Waves on the Highway," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 4(1), pages 42-51, February.
    11. Newell, G. F., 1993. "A simplified theory of kinematic waves in highway traffic, part I: General theory," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 281-287, August.
    12. Robert Herman & Siamak Ardekani, 1984. "Characterizing Traffic Conditions in Urban Areas," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(2), pages 101-140, May.
    13. Daganzo, Carlos F., 2007. "Urban gridlock: Macroscopic modeling and mitigation approaches," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 49-62, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ludovic Leclercq & Mahendra Paipuri, 2019. "Macroscopic Traffic Dynamics Under Fast-Varying Demand," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(6), pages 1526-1545, November.
    2. Jin, Wen-Long & Gan, Qi-Jian & Gayah, Vikash V., 2013. "A kinematic wave approach to traffic statics and dynamics in a double-ring network," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 114-131.
    3. Kasun P Wijayaratna & Vinayak V Dixit & Laurent Denant-Boemont & S Travis Waller, 2017. "An experimental study of the Online Information Paradox: Does en-route information improve road network performance?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, September.
    4. Cao, Jin & Menendez, Monica, 2018. "Quantification of potential cruising time savings through intelligent parking services," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 151-165.
    5. Daganzo, Carlos F. & Lehe, Lewis J. & Argote-Cabanero, Juan, 2018. "Adaptive offsets for signalized streets," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 117(PB), pages 926-934.
    6. Mariotte, Guilhem & Leclercq, Ludovic & Laval, Jorge A., 2017. "Macroscopic urban dynamics: Analytical and numerical comparisons of existing models," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 245-267.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daganzo, Carlos F., 2010. "On the Stability of Freeway Traffic," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt4vf597r5, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    2. Jin, Wen-Long & Gan, Qi-Jian & Gayah, Vikash V., 2013. "A kinematic wave approach to traffic statics and dynamics in a double-ring network," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 114-131.
    3. Geroliminis, Nikolas & Sun, Jie, 2011. "Hysteresis phenomena of a Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram in freeway networks," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 966-979, November.
    4. Gayah, Vikash V. & Daganzo, Carlos F., 2011. "Clockwise hysteresis loops in the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram: An effect of network instability," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 643-655, May.
    5. Jiang, Chenming & Bhat, Chandra R. & Lam, William H.K., 2020. "A bibliometric overview of Transportation Research Part B: Methodological in the past forty years (1979–2019)," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 268-291.
    6. Jin, Wen-Long, 2010. "A kinematic wave theory of lane-changing traffic flow," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 44(8-9), pages 1001-1021, September.
    7. Jin, Wen-Long & Gan, Qi-Jian & Lebacque, Jean-Patrick, 2015. "A kinematic wave theory of capacity drop," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 316-329.
    8. Wen-Long Jin, 2021. "A Link Queue Model of Network Traffic Flow," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(2), pages 436-455, March.
    9. Jin, Wen-Long, 2012. "The traffic statics problem in a road network," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1360-1373.
    10. Yang, Lei & Yin, Suwan & Han, Ke & Haddad, Jack & Hu, Minghua, 2017. "Fundamental diagrams of airport surface traffic: Models and applications," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 29-51.
    11. Yan, Qinglong & Sun, Zhe & Gan, Qijian & Jin, Wen-Long, 2018. "Automatic identification of near-stationary traffic states based on the PELT changepoint detection," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 39-54.
    12. Geroliminis, Nikolas & Sun, Jie, 2011. "Properties of a well-defined macroscopic fundamental diagram for urban traffic," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 605-617, March.
    13. Jin, Wen-Long & Laval, Jorge, 2018. "Bounded acceleration traffic flow models: A unified approach," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 1-18.
    14. Jin, Wen-Long, 2017. "On the stability of stationary states in general road networks," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 42-61.
    15. Jin, Wen-Long, 2013. "A multi-commodity Lighthill–Whitham–Richards model of lane-changing traffic flow," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 361-377.
    16. Jin, Wen-Long, 2020. "Generalized bathtub model of network trip flows," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 138-157.
    17. Gayah, Vikash V. & Daganzo, Carlos F., 2010. "Clockwise Hysteresis Loops in the MacroscopicFundamental Diagram," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt2x98k1x2, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    18. Gayah, Vikash V. & Gao, Xueyu (Shirley) & Nagle, Andrew S., 2014. "On the impacts of locally adaptive signal control on urban network stability and the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 255-268.
    19. Jin, Wen-Long, 2017. "A first-order behavioral model of capacity drop," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 438-457.
    20. Tilg, Gabriel & Ambühl, Lukas & Batista, Sergio & Menendez, Monica & Busch, Fritz, 2021. "On the application of variational theory to urban networks," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 435-456.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transb:v:45:y:2011:i:5:p:782-788. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/548/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.