(A) study on the wave characteristics of stop-and-go traffic

Abstract

Since the first study of traffic theory by Greenshields (1935), numerous models and approaches are introduced to analyze and predict various traffic situations. Nevertheless, most of these models cannot fully describe the complex traffic states such as congested traffic. Stop-and-go traffic occurs frequently in congested traffic, which together, looks like a wave. It is important to understand the mechanism and wave characteristics of stop-and-go traffic. For this reason, many traffic theorists have made attempts to describe them. Yeo (2008) proposed asymmetric microscopic driving behavior theory. His theories explain the characteristics of stop-and-go traffic; however he does not demonstrate the interactions between the waves of stop-and-go traffic. According to asymmetric theory, the stop-and-go traffic is classified into 3 phases: generation, growth and dissipation. Along with his ideas, this thesis studies the interaction between lane changing vehicles and the phase transition of stop-and-go traffic. For instance, the phase of stop-and-go traffic can be growth or dissipation as the number of lane changing vehicles varies. Moreover, the relationship between the two consecutive stop-and-go waves is studied. Specifically, the gap-time distribution of waves varies according to different phase of stop-and-go traffic. On the whole, this research attempts to identify and observe the interactive characteristics of stop-and-go traffic.