CIVL 3250 Transportation Engineering

Lecture 15 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram

February 25, 2019
 Agenda for Today

▪ Announcements

▪ Microscopic and Macroscopic Traffic Flow Characteristics

▪ Fundamental Relationship using Greenshield’s Model

▪ In-Class Example

▪ Observations and Models

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 2
Announcements
Remaining tutorials have been
pushed back by 1 week
▪ Tutorial Schedule

➢ January 14 - Tutorial 1 – Single line sketches (SLS)

➢ January 21 - Tutorial 2 – Cross-sectional design

➢ January 28 - Open Tutorial – Ask the TAs questions

➢ February 4 - Tutorial 3 – Horizontal alignment

➢ February 25 - Tutorial 4 – Vertical alignment

➢ March 4 - Open Tutorial – Ask the Tas questions

➢ March 11 - Tutorial 5 – Mini-project overview

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering
Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 3
Lab Submissions 3, 4, and 5

▪ We will open up the remaining lab submissions as

group work

▪ Labs 3 and 4 are due on March 11, 2019 before Lab

5 begins

▪ You can organize yourselves in groups of 2 or 3

(max)..or 1

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 4
 Agenda for Today

▪ Announcements

▪ Microscopic and Macroscopic Traffic Flow Characteristics

▪ Fundamental Relationship using Greenshield’s Model

▪ In-Class Example

▪ Van Aerde Model

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 5
Speed (V)

▪ Speed is both a microscopic and macroscopic

characteristic of traffic

➢ Individual speed

➢ Mean speed

▪ Recall: How do we calculate space mean speed?

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 6
Density (k)

▪ Recall: How do we define spacing and clearance?

▪ The macroscopic characteristic of spacing is density

➢ Can be given in units of veh / km

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 7
Flow and Volume (q)

▪ Recall: How do we define headways and gaps?

▪ The macroscopic characteristic of headways are

traffic flows (or volumes)
➢ Can be given in units of veh / hr

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 8
 Agenda for Today

▪ Announcements

▪ Microscopic and Macroscopic Traffic Flow Characteristics

▪ Fundamental Relationship using Greenshield’s Model

▪ In-Class Example

▪ Observations and Models

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 9
v-k-q relationships (fundamental relationship)

▪ 𝑞 = 𝑣𝑠 × 𝑘

▪ Where:
➢ q = flow rate

➢ vs = space mean speed

➢ k = density

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 10
Bruce D. Greenshields (1893-1979)

▪ Well-known US traffic researcher

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 11
Greenshield Model (1934)

▪ Linear relationship between density and speed

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 12
Speed-Density Relationship

❑ Greenshield’s Linear Speed-Density Model (1934):

Space Mean Speed

vf
 k 
v s = v f 1 − 
Speed (vs)  k 
(km/hr)
 j 

 vs 
k = kj1 − 
 vf 
0 kj
Density (k)
(veh/km)

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 13
Speed-flow-density relationships
Vs Vs

Vf Vf

Vm Vm

km qm

qm

km

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 14
Flow-Density Relationship

❑ Greenshield’s Flow-Density Model (1934):

 k 2 

km =
kj q = vf  k − 
 k 
qm 2  j 

Flow
(veh/hr) vf
vm =
2
Uncongested Congested
stable flow unstable flow

0 kj
Density qm = vm  k m
(veh/km)
vf  k j
=
4

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 15
Flow-Speed Relationship

❑ Greenshield’s Flow-Speed Model (1934):

vf
Uncongested
stable flow vf  vs 
2
Speed vm = q = kj v s − 
(km/hr) 2
 vf 
Congested
unstable flow

0 Flow qm
(veh/hr)

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 16
Greenshield Equations

vf
vm =
2

vf  kj
qm = v m  k m =
4

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 17
Why does the speed decrease once we reach a
specific density?

▪ Example of car-following behaviour:

➢ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wm-
pZp_mi0

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 18
Information Recall

▪ Recall: Link performance function from

transportation planning

▪ What was the shape of the BPR function?

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 19
 Agenda for Today

▪ Announcements

▪ Microscopic and Macroscopic Traffic Flow Characteristics

▪ Fundamental Relationship using Greenshield’s Model

▪ In-Class Example

▪ Observations and Models

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 20
In-Class Example

▪ Based on the given relationship:

➢ 𝑣𝑆 = 87.19 − 0.87 𝑘

1. Use the Greenshield model to determine the

following:
➢ vf, vm, kj, km, and qm

2. Draw the three diagrams of macroscopic traffic

characteristics

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 21
In-Class Example

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 22
 Agenda for Today

▪ Announcements

▪ Microscopic and Macroscopic Traffic Flow Characteristics

▪ Fundamental Relationship using Greenshield’s Model

▪ In-Class Example

▪ Observations and Models

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 23
Linear Regression

▪ Keep in mind that we can use a linear regression

(from the trip generation step of the UTPS model) to
calibrate a Greenshield model

▪ We can do this using the linear v-k relationship

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 24
 Fundamental Diagram Observations
120 120

100 100

80 80

v (km/h)
v (km/h)

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

k (vehicles/km/lane) q (vehicles/hour/lane)

2500

▪ Based on 1 lane of a 3 lane

q (vehicles/hour/lane)

2000

1500

1000
freeway
500

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

k (vehicles/km)

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 25
Observations and Greenshield Model

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 26
CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering
Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 27
Van Aerde’s Model (1995)
v v

vf vf

vm vm

km qm

qm

km

CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering

Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 28
CIVL 3250 – Transportation Engineering
Lecture 16 – Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram 29