A Three-Phase Fundamental Diagram from Three-Dimensional Traffic Data

This paper uses empirical traffic data collected from three locations in Europe and the US to reveal a three-phase fundamental diagram with two phases located in the uncongested regime. Model-based clustering, hypothesis testing and regression analyses are applied to the speed–flow–occupancy relatio...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Maria Laura Delle Monache, Karen Chi, Yong Chen, Paola Goatin, Ke Han, Jing-mei Qiu, Benedetto Piccoli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:Axioms
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1680/10/1/17
Description
Summary:This paper uses empirical traffic data collected from three locations in Europe and the US to reveal a three-phase fundamental diagram with two phases located in the uncongested regime. Model-based clustering, hypothesis testing and regression analyses are applied to the speed–flow–occupancy relationship represented in the three-dimensional space to rigorously validate the three phases and identify their gaps. The finding is consistent across the aforementioned different geographical locations. Accordingly, we propose a three-phase macroscopic traffic flow model and a characterization of solutions to the Riemann problems. This work identifies critical structures in the fundamental diagram that are typically ignored in first- and higher-order models and could significantly impact travel time estimation on highways.
ISSN:2075-1680