Study of the Response of PW Traffic Flow Model to a Bottleneck on a Circular Road and its Suitability for Heterogeneous Traffic Conditions

Abstract

The traffic flow conditions in developing countries are predominantly heterogeneous. The early developed traffic flow models have been derived from fluid flow to capture the behavior of the traffic. The very first two-equation model derived from fluid flow is known as the Payne-Whitham or PW Model. Along with the traffic flow, this model also captures the traffic acceleration. However, the PW model adopts a constant driver behavior which cannot be ignored, especially in the situation of heterogeneous traffic.This research focuses on testing the PW model and its suitability for heterogeneous traffic conditions by observing the model response to a bottleneck on a circular road. The PW model is mathematically approximated using the Roe Decomposition and then the performance of the model is observed using simulations.