Highway and Transportation Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

Chapter 2: motion of single vehicle (used to formulate a
general model of a vehicular stream for the simple case)
The resulting traffic conditions range from almost free flow to
highly congested condition (consequences of vehicular
interactions)

2
Understanding and developing an optimal road network for
efficient movement of traffic and minimal traffic congestion
problems. Traffic Engineering
Models required for the case of highway traffic (considerable
variability)
Basic variables that describe the prevailing conditions within a
vehicular stream and the fundamental relationship between
them

Traffic Flow Elements

Flow (q)
Density/Concentration (k)
Speed (v, u)
Time Headway (h)
Space Headway or Spacing (S)

3
Spacing (S)
Uninterrupted flow
Vehicles are not required to
interrupt (e.g. traffic lights, transit
stations) their motion
Only interference is caused by
other vehicles
General rule of spacing between
vehicles
Enough space for sudden
deceleration considering
perception-reaction time

4
Spacing (S)
1
2
v final 2 vinitial 2 a x final xinitial
when v final 0 and xinitial 0
vinitial 2
x final
2a

v initial speed of the two vehicles

dl deceleration rate of the leading vehicle
df deceleration rate of the following vehicle
perception reaction time of the follwoing vehicle
x0 safety margin after stop
L length of vehicle
N number of vehicles in a train (if applicable)

5
Spacing (S)
v2
Braking distance of the leading vehicle xl 2d l
v2
Total distance of the responding following vehicle x f v
2d f
In terms of S, NL, and xo
S

xf S xl NL x0

Spacing
v2 v2
S v NL x0
2d f 2d l

Anticipated deceleration of the leading

vehicle and desired deceleration of the
following vehicle

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Safety consideration
Deceleration
Normal or comfortable deceleration (dn): passenger comfort
Emergency deceleration (de)
: an accident or a stalled vehicle or
other sudden obstruction
Safest level of operation: stop by normal deceleration even in
the case of stonewall stop of the leading vehicle
Lower level of safety: stop by applying an emergency brake

7
 Regime Deceleration Deceleration
Safety consideration of leading of following
vehicle vehicle
v2 v2 a dn
S v NL x0
2d f 2d l
b de dn
c de
d d l = df
e no braking

The higher the level of

safety is, the higher the
required spacing will be
Trade-off between safety
and capacity

8
 Safety consideration Example 3.1
A rapid-transit system employing single vehicles is scheduled at
constant headways. For safety regime a & b, plot the relationship
between the spacing in feet (ft) and speed in feet per second
(ft/s) using the following data: perception-reaction time = 1.5s,
normal deceleration = 8ft/s2, emergency deceleration = 32 ft/s2,
vehicle length = 40 ft, and safety clearance x0 = 4 ft.

9
Safety consideration Example 3.1

I
40

10
Safety consideration Example 3.1

11
Safety consideration Example 3.1

12
Spacing and concentration
Concentration (k): ratio of the number of vehicles appearing
on the photograph to the length of the roadway segment

13
Spacing and concentration
Uniform operation: the numerical value of concentration
obtained at any instant of time on any segment of roadway will
be the same

1
S
k
Value of concentration vary with time and also differ from one
location to another at the same time

14
Headway and flow
Headway
Time headway (h): difference between the time when the
front of a vehicle arrives at a point on the highway and the
time the front of the next vehicle arrives at the same point
h = (constant spacing) / (constant speed of operation)

Space headway (S): difference in position between the front

of a vehicle and the front of the next vehicle

15
Headway and flow
Flow (q)
Number of vehicles at the point of observation divided by
the total observation time, T

1
h
q

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Average or mean speed
When, where, and how to take speed measurements that are
representative of the traffic stream
Spot speed: speeds of successive vehicles taken at a single
point of the roadway over a long period of time
Speeds of all the vehicles occupying a length of highway
taken at the same instant. Using two aerial photographs of
the highway separated by a small interval of time

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Average or mean speed
Time mean speed (ut) arithmetic average of the spot speeds
N
1
ut vi
N 1

Space mean speed (us) based on average traveling time

N N
D 1 1 D
ti tave ti tave
vi N 1 N 1 vi

D 1
us us N
tave 1 1
N 1 vi

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 Average or mean speed Example 3.2
The spot speeds of four vehicles were observed to be 30, 40, 50,
and 60 ft/s, respectively. Compute the time mean speed and
space mean speed.

N
1 30 40 50 60
ut vi Time mean speed 45 ft s
N 1 4

1
us 1
1 N
1 Space mean speed 42.1 ft s
1 1 1 1 1
N 1 vi
4 30 40 50 60

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The fundamental equation of a vehicular stream
Headway between two vehicles traveling at a spacing, S and
speed, u S Length
h Time
u Length / Time
Fundamental equation describing a traffic stream
(Flow, mean speed, concentration vary simultaneously)

1 +
flow
+
speed
concentration
S hu ,

k
h
1 q uk
q
1 1
u
q k
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 v2 v2
S v NL x0
The case of uniform flow 2d f 2d l

1 1
k f (u )
S u2 u2
u NL x0
2d f 2d l

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The case of uniform flow Maximum speed
Free-flow condition:
very low concentration
and very high speed
(speed , spacing ,
concentration )
Free-flow speed, uf:
maximum speed at
zero concentration
(when concentration
approaches zero)

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 q uk
u
The case of uniform flow q
u2 u2
Capacity of roadway at the
u NL x0
2d f 2d l
specified safety regime
(intermediate speed, um)

•
Maximum
Flow

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The case of uniform flow

q k u (k )
: free-flow
: jam-concentration

: intermediate speed

low speed

high speed

(Safety regime b)
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 The case of uniform flow Example 3.3
Given S = 0.30/(60 u), where S is the spacing in mile and u is
the speed in miles per hour, (i) derive the relationships u k, u
q, and q k. Also (ii) estimate the capacity (i.e. qmax) of the
roadway and (iii) plot spacing in ft versus headway (time) in
seconds.

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 The case of uniform flow Example 3.3
Solution:

1.21s) =

26
The case of highway traffic flow
The general form of u-k, u-q, and q-k diagrams corresponding to highway flow.

q uk
27
 The case of highway traffic flow Example 3.4
Assume that drivers in fact follow the rule of the road of keeping a
gap of one car length (L) for each 10 mi/h increment of speed.
Assuming a car length of 20 ft, develop the equations of stream
flow and draw the u-k, q-u, and q-k diagram.

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The case of highway traffic flow Example 3.4
Solution:

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The case of highway traffic flow Example 3.4
Solution:

30
 The case of highway traffic flow Example 3.5
Given that the relationship between the speed and concentration
obtained from actual data is

u 54.5 0.24k
Repeat the steps of Example 3.4 to estimate qmax, um, and kj.

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The case of highway traffic flow Example 3.5
Solution:

32
Background
Flow, speed, and concentration are interrelated
Proper measurement technique must take simultaneous
measurements on two of the three variables
q = uk
Taking measurements of only one of the three variables
cannot describe the prevailing vehicular stream conditions

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The moving-observer method
Developed to provide
simultaneous measurements
of stream variables
Relative motion between the
observer and the vehicular
stream

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The moving-observer method
Stationary observer and moving vehicle: q
N0
; N0 qT
T

Observer is moving and the rest of traffic is stationary:

Np
k ; Np kVT
L
V Observer ' s Speed
Moving-observer within the traffic stream (relative counts):

M M0 Mp qT kVT M
q kV
T

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The moving-observer method

M
q kV
T

Two unknowns: q and k

Second test run at a different
test vehicle speed
Generally one test with traffic and
the other is against traffic
= number of vehicles in the northbound
stream that the test vehicle encounters while traveling
southbound

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The moving-observer method
From the two test runs (w: with, a: against)

Mw Ma VwTw VaTa L Mw Ma
q kVw q kVa q
Tw Ta Tw Ta

Mw
Space mean speed (u): q kVw
Tw

L
Mw q L u
q Mw
Tw u Tw Tw
q

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The moving-observer method
L
Quantity, L/u = average time, Tave Tave
u
L
u Mw
Mw Tave Tw
Tw q
q
Tw = travel time of the test vehicle in the
direction of the stream being measured
Mw = count taken during that run
q= flow

Mw Mw
Tave Tw Tw Tave
q q

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 Mw
Tw Tave
q

The moving-observer method

Test vehicle is traveling faster than average
( )M w ; Tave Tw
Test vehicle is traveling slower than average
( )M w ; Tave Tw
Test vehicle is traveling at the average stream speed
Mw 0

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 The moving-observer method Example 3.6
A bicycle racer practices every day at different times. Her route
includes a ride along a 0.5-mi bikeway and back, as shown in the
figure below.

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Since she is a traffic engineer, she has made it a habit to count the
number of cars in lane A that she meets while riding southward
(Ms), the number of cars in lane A that overtake her while riding
northward (M0), and the number of cars in land A that she
overtakes while during northward (Mp). The table summarizes the
average measurements that she obtained for the each period of
the day. Given that the bicyclist travels at a constant speed of 20
mi/h, (a) find the traffic stream conditions for each period of the
day, (b) calibrate u = a + bk and plot the q-k relationship, and (c)
estimate the capacity of lane A.

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The moving-observer method Example 3.6
Solution:

50

40
u = -0.2228k + 43.025
u (mi/h)

30

20

10

0
0 100 200 300
k (veh/mi)
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The moving-observer method Example 3.6
Solution:

2500
2000
q(veh/h)

1500
1000 (8:00 9:00)
(10:00 11:00)

500
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
k (veh/mi)
43
 Background
Streams of varying stream
conditions Shock wave

Platoon: slow-moving
vehicles at relatively high
concentration
CVG4150 - Won Taek Oh 44
 Background
Streams of varying stream
conditions Shock wave

Platoon: slow-moving
vehicles at relatively
high concentration

CVG4150 - Won Taek Oh 45

Case 1:
Flow (q) = 400 veh/h , Density (k) = 8 veh/mi

46
Case 1:

47
 ( ) ( )
Case 2:

Streams of varying stream

conditions Shock wave
k=0

Line AA
Shock wave
Line BB

( )
( ) Free Flow

CVG4150 - Won Taek Oh 48

The shock wave equation
Speed of a traffic stream
shock wave
qb qa
usw
kb ka

(+)usw: shock wave is

traveling in the direction of
stream flow
(-)usw: shock wave is
traveling in the upstream
direction
usw = 0: stationary

a and b are the two conditions labeled

in the direction of the flow 49
 The shock wave equation Example 3.7
For the illustration shown in the figure, determine the magnitude
and direction of the speeds of the two shock waves AA and BB and
determine the rate at which the platoon is growing behind the
truck.
( )
( ) Free Flow

Platoon

Line AA
Shock wave
Line BB

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The shock wave equation Example 3.7 4=0
K=0

0 1200
usw( AA) 10(mi/h)
0 120
1200 1000
usw( BB ) 2.1(mi/h)
120 25
The rate of the growth of platoon
= 10 - 2.1 = 7.9 (mi/h)

51
 The shock wave equation Example 3.8
For example 3.7 assume that the truck exited the traffic stream
10 min after slowing down. Vehicles at the front of the platoon
were then released to a speed of 20 mi/h and a concentration of
70 veh/mi. Compute the amount of time it took the 10 mi/h
platoon to disappear.

Platoon

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The shock wave equation Example 3.8
Solution:

20
1

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 The shock wave equation Example 3.9
For example 3.8, determine the speed of the shock wave that
commenced at the instant when the 10 mi/h platoon was totally
eliminated.

qb qa
usw
kb ka

1400 1000
usw 8.9mi / h ( forward )
70 25
20
1

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 The shock wave equation Example 3.10
For the illustration shown in the figure, determine the magnitude
and direction of the speed of shockwave 1, length of the platoon
after 3 minutes, and the number of vehicles in the platoon after 3
minutes.

t3

q= 400 veh/h q= 0 veh/h

K= 8 veh/mi Kj= 200 veh/mi
qb qa
usw Shockwave 1
kb ka

uOttawa.ca
 The shock wave equation Example 3.11
For the previous example, if the vehicles at the front of the
platoon were released after 3 minutes to a speed of 9 mi/h and a
concentration of 100 veh/mi. Compute the amount of time it took
the platoon to disappear.

t4

q= 400 veh/h q= 0 veh/h q= 900 veh/h

K= 8 veh/mi Kj= 200 veh/mi K= 100 veh/mi

Shockwave 1

Shockwave 2
qb qa
usw
kb ka

uOttawa.ca