Network traffic flow theory: Microscopic simulation experiments on supercomputers

Abstract

Microscopic simulation experiments are conducted to investigate traffic behavior in urban networks and support the development of network-level traffic flow relations. Previous use of microscopic traffic simulation has been limited by computational resources to small networks. Supercomputers largely alleviate such limitations and allow more elaborate and realistic simulations of traffic in large networks. This paper provides computational experience in simulating large-scale urban traffic networks on a CRAY supercomputer. In addition to the computational results, the experiments address the effect of intersection traffic control on the two-fluid characterization of vehicular flow in congested networks. Evidence is provided from larger networks that supports conclusions reached in earlier work using smaller test networks.