| Title | Propagation of Disturbances in Traffic Flow |
|---|---|
| Record ID | 49272 |
| Personal Name Creator |
Dersin, Pierre; Gershwin, S. B.; Athans, Michael |
| Source | 292p. in various pagings |
| Corporate Creator | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Corporate Contributor |
John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.); United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Secretary |
| Publisher | United States. Dept. of Transportation. Office of the Secretary |
| Publication Date | 19770901 |
| Language | English |
| Abstract | The system-optimized static traffic-assignment problem in a freeway corridor network is the problem of choosing a distribution of vehicles in the network to minimize average travel time. It is of interest to know how sensitive the optimal steady-state traffic distribution is to external changes including accidents and variations in incoming traffic. Such a sensitivity analysis is performed via dynamic programming. The propagation of external perturbations is studied by numerical implementation of the dynamic programming equations. When the network displays a certain regularity and satisfies certain conditions, we prove, using modern control theory and graph theory, that the effects of imposed perturbations which contribute no change in total flow decrease exponentially as distance from the incident site increases. We also characterize the impact of perturbations with nonzero total flow. The results confirm numerical experience and provide bounds for the effects as functions of distance. |
| Rosap ID | dot:10735 |
| Rosap URL | https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/10735 |
| TRT Terms | Control; Traffic; Traffic control; Traffic distribution; Traffic assignment; Traffic flow; Traffic incidents; Crash investigation; Dynamic programming; Forecasting; Freeways; Network analysis; Optimization; Perturbations; Perturbation theory; Roads; Sensitivity; Stochastic processes; Travel time |
| General Subjects | Incidents; Network flows |
| Classification | NTL - OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS - OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS; NTL - OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS - Traffic Flow; NTL - PLANNING AND POLICY - PLANNING AND POLICY; NTL - PLANNING AND POLICY - Travel Demand |
| Geographical Coverage |
United States |
| Contract Number | DOT-TSC-849 |
| Report Number | DOT-TSC-OST-77-62 |
| Resource type | Tech Report |
| URL | https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/49000/49200/49272/DOT-TSC-OST-77-62.pdf |
| Format | |
| Database | NTL Digital Repository |