CIV2282

Transport and Traffic Engineering

Traffic Flow Fundamentals (I)
1
Learning Objectives
! Understand the definitions of basic traffic
flow variables.
! Understand the basic relations between these
variables.
! Become familiar with the related calculation.
2
Study Guide Material:
! Topic 5: Basic Traffic Variables and
Relationships
3
Reference on MUSO
Outline
1. Introduction
2. Classification of Traffic Flow
3. Key Traffic Flow Variables
4
Introduction
5
Introduction: The 2282 Structure
6
1. Veh. Traffic (4 weeks)
- Physics &
engineering
oriented
- Math based
Assign.
1 & 2
Pracs.
1&2
Traffic flow fundamentals & theory
Traffic random distributions
Queuing systems
Unsignalized intersection capacity
2. Veh. Traffic + Infrastructure (2 weeks)
- Engineering
oriented
- Math based
Assign.
3 & 4
Pracs.
3-5

Traffic survey
Traffic signal operation
3. Veh. Traffic + People (4 weeks)
- Engineering &
Management &
people oriented
- More descriptive
Public transport
Traffic safety
Non-motorized transport
Introduction
7
Vehicular traffic is a
product of human
civilization.
It has only appeared
for about 150 years. It
is something very new
in this planet.
Introduction
8
After 1950s, it has attracted more
and more attention of the society
because of increasingly serious
traffic congestion.
Nowadays vehicular traffic has
become a very active field of
engineering and research .
Before 1940s, vehicular
traffic was little considered
by engineers because of very
low traffic flow.
Introduction
9
To study traffic flow, lets first consider a general
question:
How to study a physical object (not limited to
traffic flow)?
Introduction: Free-Fall Problem
10
Key variables?
- displacement, speed, and
acceleration (g)
model ( ) Newtonian Law of motion
Introduction: Free-Fall Problem
11
The free-fall problem: Variables and model
A natural thought:
" Can we study traffic flow as we check the free-
fall motion of the lead brick?
" If we do so, we actually take traffic flow as a
physical object.
" That means that we need to choose suitable
variables to describe traffic flow characteristics
and establish a traffic flow model.
12
Introduction
13
Key variables: #
Mathematic model: #
Object
of
interest
Key variables: ?
Mathematic model: ?
View vehicular
traffic as a kind
of fluid
Introduction
Outline
1. Introduction
2. Classification of Traffic Flow
3. Key Traffic Flow Variables
14
! Uninterrupted and interrupted flow.

! Microscopic simulation can help us get some close
observation of the two types of traffic flow.

15
Classification of Traffic Flow
! Uninterrupted flow:
- a traffic stream that operates free from the
influence of traffic control devices such as
signals and stop signs.
- Influenced primarily by roadway characteristics
and interaction between vehicles.
! Freeway traffic flow is typically uninterrupted
traffic flow.
16
Classification of Traffic Flow
! Interrupted flow includes:
- urban traffic under the influence of signals.
- freeway traffic close to a freeway on-ramp.
! The lecture content of Weeks 1-3 is applicable
to both types of traffic flow, but focusing on
uninterrupted flow.
17
Classification of Traffic Flow
! We will specifically check interrupted traffic flow
through topics Unsignalized intersection
capacity (Week 4) and Traffic signal
design (Week 7).
18
Classification of Traffic Flow
1. Introduction
2. Classification of Traffic Flow
3. Key Traffic Flow Variables
19
Outline
! Flow q;
! Time headway h;
! Mean speed v;
- space mean speed
- time mean speed
! Density k;
! Spacing s
20
Key Traffic Flow Variables
v
s
v
t
where
n: number of vehicles passing any specified roadway
point during a time period, and
t: duration of that time period;
q: traffic flow.
21
Flow
Flow is the number of vehicles passing any specified
road location per unit time.
q =
n
t
Albert was standing at location A at the side of the
road and counting the number of passing vehicles. If
20 vehicles were recorded over a period of 2
minutes, then the flow at A over that period is 10
veh/min (600 veh/h).
Flow is often measured over a course of an hour, in
which case the resulting value is typically referred to
as volume (i.e. hourly flow).
22
Flow
Consider two vehicles are running on a circular track
of 1 km. One is at the constant speed of 30 km/h and
the other at 60 km/h.
23
What is the volume (hourly
flow)?


Example 1-(1)
C60: car at 60 km/h
C30: car at 30 km/h
For one hour, C60 passes the observers location 60
times, and C30 does 30 times. A total of 90 times of
vehicular passages is recorded. Thus, the volume at A
is 90 veh/h. Since the two vehicles run at constant
speeds, the same volume can actually be measured at
any other location along the track.
24
Example 1-(1)
A
B
Aside from the total number of vehicles passing a
roadway point in some time interval, the amount of
time between the passing of successive vehicles is also
of interest.
The time between the passage of the front bumpers of
successive vehicles, at any specified roadway point, is
called the time headway at that road point.

25
Time Headway
26
Assume Albert was standing at location A at the side
of a highway. The time instants that vehicles passed
him were recorded as: , , , Then, the
corresponding time headways are determined as:




1
t
2
t
3
t
,
1 2 1
t t h ! =
,
2 3 2
t t h ! =
Time Headway
t
t t
t t t t t t
h h h h
n
n n
n
n
i
i
=
! =
! + + ! + ! =
+ + + =
!
!
!
=
"
1
1 2 3 1 2
1 2 1
1
1
) ( ) ( ) (

h
i
: time headway between vehicles i and i+1;
n: number of vehicle passing a specified roadway point during
time period t.


27
Time Headway
1
t
2
t
3
t
4
t
5
t
n
t
t
1
h
2
h
3
h
4
h
1 ! n
h
1 ! n
t
time
h
h h
n
q
n
i
i n
n
i
i
1 1
1
1
1
1
1
= = =
! !
"
=
"
=
t = h
i
i=1
n!1
"
where
: average time headway

h
28
Time Headway and Flow
q =
n
t
Consider two vehicles are running on a circular track
of 1 km. One is with the speed of 30 km/h and the
other with 60 km/h.
29
What is the average time
headway?
sec/veh 40 90 / 3600 / 1 = = = q h
Example 1-(2)
30
Each vehicle has its individual speed, what is more of
interest for traffic flow is the mean speed. The mean
speed can be defined in two ways.
Space mean speed is defined as the average speed of
all vehicles within a specified road stretch at a given
time instant.

Space Mean Speed
l
!
=
=
n
i
i
n
s
v v
1
1
v
i
: individual vehicle speed observed within a
designated road section l at a certain moment;
n: number of vehicles included in the stretch.


31
Space Mean Speed
C60: car at 60 km/h
C30: car at 30 km/h
The space mean speed is:
(60+30)/2 = 45 km/h
A
32
Example 1-(3)
Space mean speed is
defined as the average
speed of all vehicles
within a specified road
stretch at a given time
instant.
33
Time Mean Speed is defined as the arithmetic mean
of vehicle speeds observed at any specified point
along the roadway during a given time interval.

Time Mean Speed
!
=
=
n
i
i
n
t
v v
1
1
v
i
: spot speed observed at a specified
roadside point;
n: number of measured spot speeds.


C60: car at 60 km/h
C30: car at 30 km/h
For one hour, C60 passes a certain location A 60
times, and C30 does 30 times. A total of 90 times
of vehicle passing is recorded at A. Thus, the time
mean speed is:
(60 * 60 + 30 *30)/(60+30) = 50 km/h
A
34
Example 1-(4)
!
=
=
n
i
i
n
t
v v
1
1
35
Time mean speed addresses a number of individual
speeds measured in a designated location (e.g. the
observer location as shown) but at different time instants.
Space mean speed addresses all individual vehicle
speeds measured within a designated road section but
at a same time instant.
Time Mean vs. Space Mean
36
Are the time
mean speed and
the space mean
speed equal in
this case?
time mean
space mean
Time Mean vs. Space Mean
C60: car at 60 km/h
C30: car at 30 km/h
The time mean speed is:
(60 * 60 + 30 *30)/(60+30) = 50 km/h
The space mean speed is:
(60+30)/2 = 45 km/h Time Mean > Space Mean
A
37
Example 1-(5)
Time Mean > Space Mean
This conclusion holds in general. However, the proof is
not very simple, and hence we omit it here. We will visit
this conclusion again in a subsequent lecture.
38
Time Mean vs. Space Mean


Density k is defined as the number of vehicles
included in a unit length of roadway at a certain time
instant. If n vehicles within a road stretch of length l at
a certain moment, then the density of the stretch at that
moment is calculated as:
k= n / l
Sometimes density is also referred to as concentration.

39
Traffic Density
l
C60: car at 60 km/h
C30: car at 30 km/h
A
40
What is the traffic density on this 1- km track?

It is 2 veh/km!

Example 1-(6)
Spacing s: distance between successive vehicles
measured from front bumper to front bumper at a
certain moment.
2
s
1
s
!
"
=
=
1
1
,
n
i
i
s l
41
Spacing
42
s
s
n
k
n
i
i
1
1
1
= =
!
"
= !
"
=
=
1
1
,
n
i
i
s l
Spacing and Density
k =
n
l
C60: car at 60 km/h
C30: car at 30 km/h
A
43
What is the average spacing on the track?
It is 0.5 km!

Example 1-(7)
44
s
k
1
=
h
q
1
=
Macroscopic
variables:
flow q;
density k.
Microscopic
variables:
headway h;
spacing s.
Macroscopic vs. Microscopic Variables
This is a fundamental relation between three important
traffic flow variables.
Considering the relations: and , we have
also

Finally we should note that:
s
v k q ! =
s
v h s ! =
h
q
1
=
s
k
1
=
45
A Fundamental Relation
t
v k q ! "
46
flow (90 veh/h) = density (2 veh/km) * space mean (45 km/h)
flow (90 veh/h) ! density (2 veh/km) * time mean (50 km/h)
average spacing (0.5 km) = average time headway (40 sec) *
space mean (45 km/h)


Example 1-(8)
s
v k q ! =
s
v h s ! =
t
v k q ! "
A circular-track example has been
employed to check the definitions of
traffic flow variables and their basic
relationships.
It should be mentioned that the
presented definitions and verified
relationship apply to general cases. The
circular track example has been taken
because it is simple and clear.



47
Notes on Example 1
" Flow;
" Time headway;
" Mean speed;
- space mean
- time mean
" Density;
" Spacing.
Vehicle time headways and spacings were measured at a point
along a highway, from a single lane, over the course of an hour.
The average values were calculated as 2.5 s/veh for headway
and 60 m/veh for spacing. Calculate the average speed of the
traffic.
To begin with, we first calculate the flow and density from the
headway and spacing data:


veh/h 1440 veh/s 4 . 0
5 . 2
1 1
= = = =
h
q
veh/km 7 . 16 veh/m 0167 . 0
60
1 1
= = = =
s
k
48
Example 2
Note that the space average speed of traffic can also be
determine directly from the average headway and spacing
values.

km/h 4 . 86
7 . 16
1440
= = =
k
q
v
s
s
v h s ! =
km/h 4 . 86 m/s 24
5 . 2
60
= = = =
h
s
v
s
49
Example 2
Summary
1. Introduction
2. Classification of Traffic Flow
3. Key Traffic Flow Variables
50
! Flow q;
! Time headway h;
! Mean speed v;
- space mean speed
- time mean speed
! Density k;
! Spacing s
51
Key Traffic Flow Variables
v
s
v
t