Intro to Traffic Flow Modeling and Intelligent Transport Systems

Week 1: Traffic Flow Basics
Introduction of basic traffic variables that are necessary to describe congestion (flow, density and speed) and the relations among them under equilibrium, known as fundamental diagram. Description of graphical tools such as time-space diagramsand input-output diagrams.

Week 2: Continuum Models of Traffic Flow
Review of the different families of traffic models (micro, meso, macro, network). Description of LWR(Lighthill-Whitham-Richards) models representing the dynamics of traffic streams through the continuity equation and an assumed equilibrium flow-density fundamental diagram.

Week 3: Traffic Modeling and Control for Freeway Systems
Introduction to different car following models. Description of space and time discretizationand the dynamic difference equations of the macroscopic Cell Transmission Model (CTM). Discussion of the concept of ramp metering in highway traffic applications.

Week 4: Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD)
Introduction to network level aggregated models. These models ignore small-scale information and describe how congestion changes over time and space in different zones of a city. Relations between traffic density and traffic flow emerge in a neat way, creating what is known as a MFD. Properties and dynamic characteristics of MFD models are presented.

Week 5: Network-level Traffic Management
Established control techniques are introduced, with the focus being on how they can be integrated with MFD models to provide large-scale traffic control for congested networks for single- and multi-region systems.

Week 6: Control of Traffic Signals
Introduction to the basics of traffic signal control. Description of methods to optimize traffic light settings. Generation of fixed-time signal plans for day-of-week and time-of-day implementation. Discussion of traffic responsive systems, the semi-actuated and fully-actuated control logic, and real-time adaptive strategies. Variable speed limits (VSL) are discussed as a measure to improve mobility in highway networks.

Week 7: Equilibria in Transportation
Introduction to the concept of User Equilibrium and the way it can be usedto predict and steer behavioral adjustments following long lasting perturbations. The fundamental concepts and assumptions required for such analyses are explained and illustrated with two applications: route and departure time choice.