Introducing lanes and lane changing in analytic dynamic modelling of congested road traffic

道路交通及其在网络上随时间变化的模型（动态）需要设计，评估，定价和管理道路交通，以及基于信息学，路线指导和其他交通控制措施的智能交通系统。道路网上的交通流模型可以方便地分为大约两类，即微观仿真（微观仿真）模型和通常被称为解析模型或宏观模型的模型。前者倾向于将交通建模为单个车辆，而后者将其建模为流动。这两种方法都有重要的作用，都有重要的优点和一些缺点。[E.g.,微观模拟模型可以提供更多的细节，而分析模型考虑更广泛的目标和动态，需要更少的数据和更少的参数，运行更快，并具有其他期望的属性。这两种方法之间的一个显着差异是，在微观仿真中，车道和车道变换行为的建模起着至关重要的作用。相比之下，在分析模型的现有技术中，车道和车道变换在很大程度上被忽略，并且道路通常被视为在每个方向上只有一个车道。这种对比，或缺乏现实主义的分析网络模型，足以解释为什么微观模拟模型越来越多地使用在实践中，而不是分析模型，尽管需要后者和他们的许多最近的理论和计算的进步。拟议的研究的目的是促进和推进引入车道和车道变换行为的分析宏观模型，使这些模型的好处和优势，它带来了微观仿真模型，同时尽可能保留现有的分析网络模型的优势。交通从一条车道改变到另一条车道的主要原因之一是避免其他车道的拥堵、排队或溢出，因此我们将同时对这种拥堵、排队和溢出的形成和行为进行建模。我们建议开发这些模型（车道，变道，拥堵，排队和溢出）在两种不同的方式：首先通过重新制定每个现有的各种交通链路模型用于动态交通分配，以便包括车道和车道变换，其次通过引入车道和车道变换到通常的连续单车道交通流理论（流体流动和运动波模型）。我们还计划开发解决方案算法的每个模型，并调查和比较的各种属性，优点和缺点的每个模型和算法，以及隐含的权衡，他们之间，例如，现实主义，简单性和计算成本。为了进行上述研究，我们请求为一名研究助理（研究员）提供为期3年的资金，并提供计算机设备和参加研究会议的差旅费。

Modelling of road traffic and its variation over time (dynamics) on networks is needed for designing, evaluating, pricing and managing road traffic, and for proposed intelligent transport systems based on informatics, route guidance, and other traffic control measures. Models of traffic flows on road network can be conveniently divided into approximately two categories, namely microsimulation (microscopic simulation) models and what are often referred to as analytic models or macroscopic models. The former tends to model traffic as individual vehicles while the latter models it as flows. Both approaches have important roles and both have important advantages and some disadvantages. [E.g., microsimulation models can provide more detail while analytic models consider broader goals and dynamics, require less data and fewer parameters, run faster and have other desirable properties.] A remarkable difference between the two approaches is that, in microsimulation, the modelling of lanes and lane-changing behaviour plays an essential role. In contrast, in the current state of the art for analytic models, lanes and lane changing are largely ignored and roads are commonly treated as having only a single lane in each direction. This contrast, or lack of realism in analytic network models, is sufficient to explain why microsimulation models are increasingly used in practice in contrast to analytic models despite the need for the latter and their many recent theoretical and computational advances. The purpose of the proposed research is to facilitate and advance the introduction of lanes and lane-changing behaviour into analytic macroscopic models, to bring to these models the benefits and advantages that it brought to microsimulation models, while so far as possible retaining existing advantages of analytic network models. One of the main reasons why traffic changes from one lane to another is to avoid congestion, queues or spill-backs in the other lanes, hence we will simultaneously model the formation and behaviour of such congestion, queues and spillbacks. We propose to develop these models (with lanes, lane-changing, congestion, queues and spillback) in two different ways: firstly by reformulating each of various existing traffic link models used in dynamic traffic assignment, so as to include lanes and lane changing, and secondly by introducing lanes and lane changing into the usual continuous single-lane traffic flow theory (fluid flow and kinematic wave models). We also plan to develop solution algorithms each of the resulting models, and to investigate and compare the various properties, advantages and disadvantages of each of the models and algorithms, and the implicit trade-offs they make between, for example, realism, simplicity and computational cost. To undertake the above research we are requesting funding for one research assistant (Research Fellow) for 3 years together with some support for computing equipment and travel to research meetings and conferences.