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2017 | Book

Breakdown in Traffic Networks

Fundamentals of Transportation Science

Author: Prof. Boris S. Kerner

Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Table of Contents

About this book

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.

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction—The Reason for Paradigm Shift in Transportation Science

Abstract

A brief historical overview of empirical and theoretical investigations of vehicular traffic in traffic and transportation networks is presented. This critical overview is based on a consideration of works made by several generations of traffic researchers. It includes more than 1200 references to most well-known empirical results and theoretical approaches. The main focus of this overview is to explain the reason for a paradigm shift that happened in transportation science during last 20 years through the understanding of the empirical nucleation nature of traffic breakdown at highway bottlenecks. We consider also the basic terms and definitions of traffic characteristics of traffic and transportation networks that are used in the book, the objectives of this book as well as the book structure.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 2. Achievements of Empirical Studies of Traffic Breakdown at Highway Bottlenecks

Abstract

Traffic breakdown is almost daily observed in traffic networks of any industrial country of the world. As already emphasized in the book introduction (Sect. 1.1), traffic breakdown is a transition from free flow to congested traffic. Therefore, highway capacity of free flow is limited by traffic breakdown. Traffic breakdown with resulting traffic congestion occurs usually at a road bottleneck. Thus, to understand the nature of highway capacity of real traffic, empirical features of traffic breakdown at a highway bottleneck should be known. The objective of this chapter is a discussion of some of important achievements of empirical studies of traffic breakdown at highway bottlenecks in real measured traffic data.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 3. Nucleation Nature of Traffic Breakdown—Empirical Fundamental of Transportation Science

Abstract

In this chapter, based on an analysis of real field traffic data we will disclose the nature of probabilistic empirical traffic breakdown at highway bottlenecks. We will show that in accordance with hypotheses of the three-phase theory, free flow at a highway bottleneck is indeed metastable with respect to a phase transition from free flow to synchronized flow at the bottleneck. In other words, we will prove that empirical traffic breakdown exhibits the nucleation nature.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 4. Failure of Generally Accepted Classical Traffic Flow Theories

Abstract

Traffic researchers have developed a huge number of traffic theories for optimization and control of traffic and transportation networks. In particular, to generally accepted fundamentals and methodologies of traffic and transportation theory belong to the Lighthill-Whitham-Richards (LWR) model and the General Motors (GM) model class. These classical theories explain many real traffic flow phenomena. In this Chapter, we show that although these classical traffic flow models exhibit many important achievements, the classical models are inconsistent with the empirical nucleation nature of traffic breakdown at highway bottlenecks. Because the classical models and theories have failed in the explanation of the empirical fundamental of transportation science, the use of the classical approaches for a study of the reliability of applications of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) leads usually to invalid conclusions for real traffic. Moreover, ITS based on these classical traffic flow theories and models cannot also be used for reliable traffic control and dynamic optimization of traffic and transportation networks.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 5. Theoretical Fundamental of Transportation Science—The Three-Phase Theory

Abstract

In this chapter, we present a theory of traffic breakdown at highway bottlenecks in the framework of the three-phase theory.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 6. Effect of Automatic Driving on Probability of Breakdown in Traffic Networks

Abstract

A current effort of many car-developing companies is devoted to the development of automatic driving vehicles. It is assumed that future vehicular traffic in traffic and transportation networks is a mixed traffic flow consisting of human driving and automatic driving vehicles. Automatic driving vehicles should considerably enhance capacity of a traffic network. Capacity of the network is limited by traffic breakdown at network bottlenecks. In this Chapter, we discuss the effect of automatic driving vehicles on the probability of traffic breakdown at network bottlenecks.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 7. Future Automatic Driving Based on Three-Phase Theory

Abstract

The deterioration of the performance of the traffic system through the ACC-vehicles discussed in Chap. 6 could be avoided through the use of automatic driving systems in vehicles, which learn from behaviors of drivers in real traffic as incorporated in hypotheses of the three-phase theory.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 8. The Reason for Incommensurability of Three-Phase Theory with Classical Traffic Flow Theories

Abstract

In this chapter, we explain why the classical traffic flow instability is inconsistent with the empirical nucleation nature of traffic breakdown at a highway bottleneck. To reach this goal, we use a concept for the distinguishing of a new paradigm in a scientific field introduced by Kuhn. This concept is mainly based on an analysis whether a new theory is incommensurable with the old one or not. A critical comparison of threephase traffic flow models with two-phase traffic flow models as well as with the classical understanding of highway capacity made in this chapter discloses the incommensurability of the three-phase theory with any other classical traffic and transportation theories.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 9. Time-Delayed Breakdown at Traffic Signal in City Traffic

Abstract

In this Chapter, we present a theory of time-delayed traffic breakdown (transition from under-saturated to over-saturated traffic) at traffic signal in city traffic. A detailed comparison of the theory of time-delayed traffic breakdown at the signal with the classical theory of traffic at the signal is made. The analysis of traffic at the signal allows us to find conditions at which classical traffic flow theories can be considered special cases of the three-phase traffic theory.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 10. Theoretical Fundamental of Transportation Science—Breakdown Minimization (BM) Principle

Abstract

The minimization of travel times and/or other travel costs in a traffic network based on the state-of-the-art in traffic and transportation research can deteriorate the traffic system considerably, while provoking heavy traffic congestion in urban networks. In this Chapter, we consider an alternative approach for dynamic traffic assignment and control of traffic networks—breakdown minimization principle (BM principle). Methods for traffic control, dynamic traffic assignment, or other types of network optimization based on the BM principle should ensure a minimum probability of traffic congestion in the network.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 11. Maximization of Network Throughput Ensuring Free Flow Conditions in Network

Abstract

In this Chapter, we consider an application of the minimization principle (BM) principle for dynamic traffic assignment and other types of network optimization in a network called the network throughput maximization approach. With the use of the network throughput maximization approach, general physical conditions for the maximization of the network throughput at which free flow conditions are ensured in the whole traffic or transportation network can be found. It turns out that there is a physical measure of the network called a network capacity that characterizes general features of the network with respect to the maximization of the network throughput.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 12. Minimization of Traffic Congestion in Networks

Abstract

In chapter “Maximization of Network Throughput Ensuring Free Flow Conditions in Network”, we have considered the application of the BM principle called the network throughput maximization approach. This approach allows us to prevent traffic breakdown in the whole network while keeping condition that the probability of traffic breakdown in the network remains to be equal to zero. The objective of this chapter is to study the case of larger values of the total network inflow rate related to rush hours in urban networks at which under application of the BM principle the probability that traffic breakdown occurs in the network becomes larger than zero.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 13. Deterioration of Traffic System Through Standard Dynamic Traffic Assignment in Networks

Abstract

The main objective of this chapter is to show that applications of this standard methodology of the minimization of network travel times deteriorates traffic system basically while provoking heavy traffic congestion in the network.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 14. Discussion of Future Dynamic Traffic Assignment and Control in Networks

Abstract

A discussion of a future dynamic traffic assignment and control in traffic and transportation networks that we make in this chapter is based on results presented in Chaps. 10–13.

Boris S. Kerner

Chapter 15. Conclusions and Outlook

Abstract

In this Chapter, we formulate the main results and conclusions of the book. We consider also challenging areas for transportation science in the future.

Boris S. Kerner

Erratum to: The Reason for Incommensurability of Three-Phase Theory with Classical Traffic Flow Theories

Boris S. Kerner

Backmatter

Title: Breakdown in Traffic Networks
Author: Prof. Boris S. Kerner
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-662-54473-0
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-54471-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54473-0