Macroscopic traffic modeling with the finite difference method

Abstract

traffic congestion forecasting model (ATOP), developed in the present investigation, is described briefly. Several macroscopic models, based on the solution of the partial differential equation of conservation of vehicles by the finite difference method, were tested using actual traffic data. The functional form, as well as the parameters, of the equation of state which describes the relation between traffic speed and traffic density, were determined for a section of the Long Island Expressway. The Lax method and the forward difference technique were applied. The results of extensive tests showed that the Lax method, in addition to giving very good agreement with the traffic data, produces stable solutions.