Exploring Engineering

Chapter 13

Engineering Kinematics

Kinematics and
Traffic Flow

Transportation
Transportation
The

movement of goods and people

Transportation
Design

Engineering

and operation of facilities and

vehicles to enhance transportation

Topics Covered
Speed and acceleration
Kinematics: the relationships
between distance, velocity/
speed, acceleration,and time
Highway capacity

Speed and Acceleration

Speed is not the same thing as velocity. Both have

dimensions of distance/time but speed is only the
magnitude of velocity

In one-dimensional problems, they are equivalent

In multidimensional problems, velocity connotes direction as well
as speed; here we will only deal in one-dimensional problems

The average speed is calculated as x/t, where x is the

distance traveled in time t.
Acceleration has dimensions of speed/time, and the average
acceleration can be calculated as V/t. It is the slope of a
speed vs. time graph.
To calculate the instantaneous speed or acceleration, the s
used in these equations should be very, very small.
Speed units:
US (miles per hour)
Rest of the world (kilometers per hour)
SI units: meters per second (m/s)

Example

A student sees his/her bus coming down the street

and starts running at 2.5 m/s toward the bus stop.
The bus is traveling at 10.0 m/s. The student starts
running toward the bus stop when the bus is 50. m
behind. What is the maximum distance the student
can be from the bus stop to catch the bus?
Know:

A) Student runs at 2.5 m/s.

B) Bus is traveling at 10.0 m/sc.
C) Distance between them 50. m

Find: How far can the student be from the bus stop?

Solution

How: In time t the bus travels a distance xb= Vb

t, and the student travels a distance xs= Vb t.

If they both reach the bus stop at the same time, then
the bus will have traveled a distance 50. meters more
than the student travels, or xb= xs+ 50 .m

Since xb= Vb t and Vb t then Vb t = Vb t +

50. m, or (Vb - Vs)(t) = 50. m

Solve: Solving for t we get

t = 50./(Vb - Vs) = 50./(10. 2.5) = 6.7 seconds

Distance vs. Time chart

The slope of the line is the speed.

Average Speed

Average speed is a measure of the distance

traveled in a given period of time.
Suppose that during your trip to school, you
traveled a distance of 5.0 miles and the trip
lasted 0.20 hours (12. minutes). The average
speed of your car could be determined as

5.0 miles

On the
average,
with a
Ave.
Speed
your car wasmoving
25. miles/hr
speed of 25. miles
perhours
hour. During your trip,
0.20
there may have been times that you were
stopped and other times that your
speedometer was reading 50. miles per hour;
yet on the average you were moving with a
speed of 25. miles per hour.

Kinematics of Motion
Equations of motion
Simplified case: constant acceleration

x = Vot+ (1/2)at2 (a = acceleration)

V= dx/dt (or x/ t, slope of distance vs. time curve)

So, V= Vo + at

a = dV/dt (or V/t, slope of velocity vs time curve)

So, a = (dV/dx)(dx/dt) = (dV/dx)V

We will not be using these physics results

Graphical View
The various regions
in this graph
represent Stationary,
Constant speed, and
Variable speed (i.e.,
acceleration)

Constant Velocity
Algebraic Method
Apply Cartesian
geometry
V

x x0
t t0

x x 0 V(t t 0 )

x
Distance

Note: speed is
distance/time

Dimensions are
length/time
Typical units ft/s, m/s

x0
Origin

t0
Time

Constant Velocity
Calculus Method

Speed is the rate of change of distance

with time

We can integrate from the initial conditions

(x0, t0) since V is constant
x V t constant x x 0 V (t t 0 )

Graphical Method
Variable
acceleration
Speed

Consider the
various regions
in this graph
Constant
speed
Constant
acceleration
Variable
acceleration

Constant
speed, V0

Constant
acceleration

Origin
Time

Constant Acceleration
Algebraic Method

V V0 a t t 0
Also, Vaver 1 V V0 V0
2
Vaver V0 1 a t t0
2

Speed

V V0
a
t t0

V
Vaver

Constant
speed, V0
Origin

t0

t
Time

Use of speed/time diagram

We have already
seen that the
V
slope of the
speed vs. time is
Vaver
acceleration
The area under
the speed/time
Constant
curve between t speed, V
0
and to is the
Origin t0
distance covered
in that time
interval
Speed

t
Time

Example
You are designing an automated
highway using vehicle speeds of 100.
mph. How long does the on-ramp need
to be to allow the car to reach this speed
and how long will it take the vehicle to
accelerate to this speed? Assume the
vehicle will start at V0 = 0 and a = 5.00
ft/s2 at t = 0 sec.

Example Continued
Need: x at V = 100. mph and t at 100
mph. Note:

100

mph = 5280 100./3600. [ft/mile]

[miles/hr] [hr/s] = 147 ft/s

Know: a = 5.00 ft/s2, V0= 0 ft/s at t0 = 0 s

How? Use a speed time graph

1)

V/t = a or t = 147/5.00 = 29.4 s

gives the time

2) Area of triangle = 147 29.4

[ft/s] [s] = 2160 ft gives distance

147 ft/s

Speed, ft/s
a=
5.0
0f
t/s

t sec

Sneaky Example
Suppose you want to travel a
distance of 2.0 miles at an average
speed of 30. mph. You cover the
first mile at a speed of 15. mph.
What should your speed be in the
second mile so you will average
30. miles per hour for the entire
trip? (Hint: Its faster than you
think!)

Speed, mph

Speed, mph

Sneaky Example Continued

15.
1.00 mile
t, s

t1

Area = 1.00 miles = 15. t0

or t0 = 1/15. miles = 4.0
minutes

30.
2.00 mile

t, s

t2

Area = 2.00 miles = 30. t0

or t0 = 2.00/30. miles
= 4.0 minutes

Sneaky Example Moral

So

the second mile will have to be

covered in zero s! Or infinite speed!
The lesson is you cant average
averages! Only time and distance are
preserved quantities!

Subway Example
A subway train is being planned using
trains capable of 50.0 mph. How close
can adjacent stations be so that the
train will reach a speed of 50.0 mph
given these characteristics:
acceleration = 6.0 ft/s2,
deceleration = - 4.0 ft/s2,
maximum speed is 50.0 mph,
and the train starts at V0 = 0.

Subway Example
Need:

x1 and x2 corresponding to t1 and t2

Know:

V0 (0) = 0 and V(t2) = 0; a1 = 6.0

ft/s2 and d2 = - 4.0 ft/s2, V1(t1) = V2(0) = 50.

mph = 73 ft/s
How:

Speed/time graph

Speed, ft/s

Subway Example

73.

6.0 ft/s2
-4.0 ft/s2

t0= 0

t1

t2

Subway Example

Solution: part 1:V1 = 73. ft/s

t1 = 73. /6.0 [ft/s] [s2/ft] = 12.2 s

Area = x1 = 73 12.2 [ft/s][s]

= 445 ft

Similarly for t2 - t1 = -73./-4.0 [ft/s][s2s] = 18.3 s

Station separation = 445 + 668 = 1,110 ft

Area = x2 = 73 18.3 [ft/s][s] = 668 ft

Highway Capacity - Types

of Traffic Flow

The first type is called uninterrupted flow, and is flow

regulated by vehicle-vehicle interactions and
interactions between vehicles and the roadway. For
example, vehicles traveling on an interstate highway
are participating in uninterrupted flow.

The second type of traffic flow is called interrupted

flow. Interrupted flow is flow regulated by an external
means, such as a traffic signal. Under interrupted
flow conditions, vehicle-vehicle interactions and
vehicle-roadway interactions play a secondary role in
defining the traffic flow.

Traffic Flow Parameters

Capacity (cars per hour). The number of cars that pass a

certain point during an hour.

Car speed, (miles per hour, mph). In our simple model we will
assume all cars are traveling at the same speed.

Density (cars per mile). Suppose you took a snapshot of the

highway from a helicopter and had previously marked two lines
on the highway a mile apart. The number of cars you would count
between these lines is the number of cars per mile.

You can easily write down the interrelationship among these

variables by using dimensionally consistent units:
Capacity = Speed Density
[cars/hour] = [miles/hour] [cars/mile]

Speed-Flow-Density
Relationship

Suppose you are flying in a helicopter, take the snapshot mentioned

above, and count that there are 160 cars per mile. Suppose further that
your first partner determines that the cars are crawling along at only 2.5
miles per hour. Suppose your second partner is standing by the road
with a watch counting cars as described earlier. For one lane of traffic,
how many cars per hour will your second partner count?

Need: Capacity = ______ cars/hour.

KnowHow: You already know a relationship between mph and cars

per mile
Capacity = Speed Density
[cars/hour] = [miles/hr] [cars/mile]

Solve: Capacity = [2.5 miles/hr] [160 cars/mile] = 400.cars/hour.

The follow rule

Number

of car lengths between cars

= [speed in mph]/[10 mph]

Use of rules

Assume average length of a car is ~ 4.0 m

on. We could pack about 400. of these
vehicles/mile bumper-to-bumper

The second equation assumes the follow rule of

one spacing/10 mph

Effect of follow rule

Follow rule and max cars on road

Summary

Kinematics is study of relationships among speed,

distance, acceleration and time.
For one-dimensional problems use a speed/time
graph since the slope of the line gives acceleration
and the area under the curve gives the distance
travelled.
For traffic analysis use:

An empirical rule + capacity relationship:

Capacity = Speed Density

[cars/hour] = [miles/hr] [cars/mile]