(CE 425) TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

J. J. J. Cabanban
University of the Cordilleras
College of Engineering and Architecture

Categories of Traffic Flow

 Learning Objectives
• To define the two categories of flow.
• To understand the uninterrupted traffic
flow model and analyze the relationships
between speed, flow and density.
• To make computations with the
Greenshield’s and Greenberg’s models of
traffic stream study.
• To use linear regression analysis for
modeling observed field data.
J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering
 Categories of Traffic Flow
• Categories
1. Uninterrupted flow – occur on facilities that
have no fixed elements, such as traffic
signals, external to the traffic stream, that
cause interruptions to traffic flow
2. Interrupted flow – occurs on transportation
facilities that have fixed elements causing
periodic interruptions to traffic flow. These
devices cause traffic to stop (or significantly
slow down) periodically irrespective of how
much traffic exists

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

 Categories of Flow
• Categories
– ‘Uninterrupted’ or ‘Interrupted’ refers to the
type of facility, not the quality of flow
– Example:
• A congested freeway where traffic is almost
coming to a halt = still uninterrupted flow facility
• A well-timed signaling system on an arterial may
resulting to an almost uninterrupted traffic flow =
still interrupted flow facility

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering
 THE UNINTERRUPTED TRAFFIC
FLOW MODEL

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

 Mathematical Relationships
Describing Traffic Flow
• Relationships
– Mathematical relationships describing traffic
flow can be classified into two general
categories: Macroscopic and microscopic
– Macroscopic: considers flow-density
relationships
– Microscopic: considers traffic streams and
develops algorithms that relate the flow to the
density and space mean speeds

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering
 MACROSCOPIC MODELS OF
TRAFFIC FLOW

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

 Greenshield’s Model
• Greenshield’s Model
– Greenshield’s (1935) carried out one of the
earliest recorded works in which he studied
relationship between speed and density
– Hypothesized that a linear relationship existed
between speed and density
– As field measurements of speed, flow, and
density became available, several researchers
evolved traffic flow models based on actual
curve fitting and statistical testing
J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering
 Greenshield’s Model
• Model Evaluation Criteria
1. Relationships of q-k-v were tested in terms
of goodness of fit to actual field data.
2. Relationships were supposed to satisfy
certain boundary conditions
a. Flow is zero at zero density.
b. Flow is zero at maximum density.
c. Mean free speed occurs at zero density.
d. Flow-density curves are convex (i.e. there is a
point of maximum flow).

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering
 Greenshield’s Model
• Greenshield’s Model
– Provides the slope and intercept by hand-
fitting a straight-line to plotted data or by
using linear regression
– Satisfies all the four boundary conditions,
although the statistical quality may be poor
(e.g. low coefficients of determination and
high standard errors)
vf 
v  vf  k
 k 
 j 
J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering
 Greenshield’s Model
• Greenshield’s Model
 k 
v  v f 1  
 k 
 j 
– Where:
v = space speed
vf = free-flow speed
kj = jam density
k = density

(Speed – Density Relationship)

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering
  k 
v  v f 1  
 k 
 j 

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

  k 2 
q  vfk  
 kj 
 

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

  v 2 
q  k jv  
 vf 
 

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

 Fundamentals of Speed, Density
and Flow
• Theory
– When the density on the highway is 0, the
flow is also 0 because there are no vehicles
on the highway.
– As the density increases, the flow also
increases.
– However, when the density reaches its
maximum, generally referred to as the jam
density (kj), the flow must be 0 because
vehicles will tend to line up end to end.
J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering
  k 2 
q  vfk  
 kj 
 

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

 Fundamentals of Speed, Density
and Flow
• Theory
– It follows that as density increases from 0, the
flow will also initially increase from 0 to a
maximum value. Further, continuous increase
in density will then result in continuous
reduction of the flow, which will eventually be
0 when the density is equal to the jam
density.
– The absolute maximum speed (free-flow
speed) is obtained as the flow tends to 0.

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

 Fundamentals of Speed, Density
and Flow
• Theory
– Continuous increase in flow will result in a
continuous decrease in speed.
– A point will be reached, however, when the
further addition of vehicles will result in the
reduction of the actual number of vehicles
that pass a point on the highway (that is,
reduction of flow) that results in congestion,
and eventually both the speed and the flow
become 0.

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

  v 2 
q  k jv  
 vf 
 

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

 Example
• Problem
– The data shown below were obtained on a
highway. Use regression analysis to fit these
data to the Greenshield’s model and
determine:
a. The mean free speed (MPH)
b. The jam density (veh/mi, VPM)
c. The capacity (veh/hr, VPH)
d. The speed at maximum flow (MPH)

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

 Example
• Problem
– Data:
Speed (mi/h) Density (veh/mi)
14.2 85
24.1 70
30.3 55
40.1 41
50.6 20
55.0 15

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

 Example
• Problem
– By assuming a linear speed-density
relationship, the mean free speed on a
highway facility lane equals 55 mph near zero
density, and the jam density is observed to be
about 170 veh/mi.
– Required:
1. Plot the q-k-v curves in proper order.
2. Compute speeds and densities corresponding to
a flow of 900 veh/hr, describing traffic conditions
from a driver’s point of view.
J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering
 Example
• Problem
– Required:
3. Calculate average headways, gaps, clearance,
and spacing at maximum flow and at jam density.

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering

 Example
• Problem
– The traffic density at certain section of a
highway was found to be 17 vehicles per
kilometer. Assuming that the average speed
was found to have been 75 KPH, compute the
flow rate and construct a speed-density model
using average vehicle length as 4.50 m and
bumper-to-bumper spacing as 3.0 m.

J. J. J. Cabanban University of the Cordilleras Transportation Engineering