Shock waves

Shockwaves
Flow-speed-density states change over
space and time

Boundary between one flow state and
another is the shockwave

Represent boundary in the time-space
plane between different flow-density states
Example
Signal is green vehicles will cross at approach speed
State A

Once signal turns red, the flow suddenly goes to zero
and density = jam density, state B, behind stop line.

Ahead empty, State D

Again green start and from jam it goes to saturation flow
state C
Time Space Plot
Start of red t1
W
AB

W
DA
W
DB
Signal phase
t
x
Ua, ka
Ub, kb
k0
wAB
wA0
WB0
End of red t2
W
DC
W
BC
Signal phase
t
x
Ua, ka
Ub, kb
k0
wAB
wA0
WB0
w0C
wBC
Other Examples
Slow truck in a freeway
Bottlenecks in a roadway

Application for determining
Queue length
Delay
Time to clear queues
Types of shockwaves
Direction of movement
Forward
Backward
Stationary
Location
Frontal
Rear end
Congestion
Forming
Recovery
Frontal
At the downstream or front edge of congested region
Lower density downstream and higher density
upstream
Eg.
Rear end
At the upstream or back of congested region
Lower density upstream and higher density
downstream
Eg.
Forming
Over time congestion is extending
Congestion is forming (more vehicles are slowing
down and density is becoming more)
Eg.
Recovery
Over time free flow condition gradually increasing
Congestion is reducing
Eg.
Stationary
Shockwave is fixed at a location
Eg.
Forward
Over time the shockwave is moving forward or downstream in
the direction of traffic
Successive vehicle moves further downstream before slowing
down or speeding up
Eg.
Backward
Over time shockwave is moving backward or upstream in the
opposite direction of traffic
Eg.
Example
At t = 0, vehicles in steady state A (ka,
ua, qa)

Assume no inflow for some time

After some time a faster stream at state
B (Qb, Kb, and Ub) with Ub > Ua
So the faster stream will soon catch up
with the slower stream

There will be a boundary between the two
streams.

Since the streams are moving, so will the
boundary.
Example
Vehicles passing through boundary
Any vehicle which passes
through this boundary will
suddenly decelerate
Boundary is called the
shockwave
The boundary itself is not
stationary
Let the speed of the
shockwave be w
AB

Ka


Ua
Kb

Ub)

A
B

w
AB

Speed of boundary or shock wave
Basic concept is flow conservation across
the boundary.

Shockwave speed, W
AB
= = Q/K

Slope of the chord between the two states
A and B.

B A
B A
K K
Q Q

Q
A
>Q
B
, K
A
>K
B
- Speed positive forward

Speed negative backward

Speed =0 - stationary
Signalized Intersection Shockwave
Analysis
Signal
density
q
kj
A
B
ka
qa
Wab
kb
ka ua
k0
Shockwaves at a signal
Analysis
t3 be time when queue completely cleared
shockwaves AB and BC collide and
terminate and W
AC
starts

Saturation flow ends at stop line at t4
Next red start at t5 upstream same
downstream differ
W
AD
will intercept with AC at t6 and W
CD

starts.
Queuing performance measures

Queue is present for how much time?
Speed at which queue forms: W
AB
Maximum queue length L
Queue clearance time
Saturation flow period

Qmax =

Q formation period =

Q dissipation period =

Saturation flow period =
) (
2 3
AB BC
AB
r t t

=
]
) )( (
[
3600
AB BC
AB BC
M
r
Q

=
) 1 (
) (
2 4
+

=
AC
BC
AB BC
AB
r
t t

Steps in shock wave analysis
1. Determine steady state flow-density
relationship
2. Identify the various states that are occurring in
the given application
3. Find transition between states
4. Compute shockwave speeds from flow-density
curve between transition states
5. Plot shock wave on time-space plot
6. Compute relevant performance measures
geometrically.
Slow truck
Slow moving truck enters highway

Assumption No overtaking

Determine
Platoon formation speed
Platoon vanishing speed
Max. queue length
Dissipation time
Bottleneck shockwaves
Suppose there is a
capacity reduction
due to lane drop.
A highway narrows
from a 3 lane to 2
lane condition
(may be due to
geometrics or
construction etc.)
A
B
Speed Flow and Flow-Density
Relationships
u0
2/3 kj
K ->
kj
A
B
density
q
kj
B
qm
A
k0
2/3kj
2/3qm
Bottleneck Case
Case 1: Inflow < Capacity of bottleneck
Let initial flow = Qa, and density = ka in
the upstream section
Flow remains same at bottleneck, but
density increases from ka to kb.
Speed changes from ua to ub
Case 2: Inflow = Capacity of bottleneck
Let initial flow = Qm, and density = ka in the
upstream section
Flow remains same at bottleneck, but density
increases from ka to kb.
Speed changes from ua to ub
Bottleneck Case
Case 3: Inflow > bottleneck
capacity
Let initial flow > Qm, and
density = ka in the upstream
section
Flow immediately ahead of
the bottleneck drops to Qm.

Flow immediately before the
bottleneck also drops to Qm
B
A
C
A
B
C
Assumptions
Constant capacity over space and time
Constant demand over space and time
Single flow-density relation over space
and time
All vehicles travel at same speed in one
regime
Speeds change only at boundaries (no
anticipation, no inertia)