Title | A unified perspective on traffic flow theory, Part I: The field theory |
Publication Type | Conference Paper |
Year of Publication | 2011 |
Authors | Ni D |
Conference Name | 11th International Conference of Chinese Transportation Professionals (ICCTP) |
Publisher | American Society of Civil Engineers |
Conference Location | Nanjing, China |
ISBN Number | 978-0-7844-1186-5 |
Keywords | Traffic flow, Transportation management |
Abstract | Over more than half a century, traffic flow theorists have been pursuing two goals: (1) simple and efficient models to abstract vehicular traffic flow and (2) a unified framework in which existing traffic flow models fit and relate to each other. Continuing these efforts, we report our humble understanding in a trio of papers. This paper (Part I) introduces a Field Theory with an emphasis on traffic flow modeling at the microscopic level. In this theory, highways and vehicles are perceived as a field by a subject driver whose driving strategy is to navigate through the field along its valley. The second paper (Part II) uses the Field Theory as a framework to relate existing microscopic and macroscopic models to each other and such relations are represented in a Unified Diagram. The third paper (Part III) provides numerical and empirical results of the Field Theory and benchmarks some traffic flow models presented in the Unified D. |
URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/41186(421)420 |
DOI | 10.1061/41186(421)420 |