This monograph provides an extended overview of modelling and control approaches for freeway traffic systems, moving from the early methods to the most recent scientific results and field implementations. The concepts of green traffic systems and smart mobility are addressed in the book, since a modern freeway traffic management system should be designed to be sustainable. Future perspectives on freeway traffic control are also analysed and discussed with reference to the most recent technological advancements The most widespread modelling and control techniques for freeway traffic systems are treated with mathematical rigour, but also discussed with reference to their performance assessment and to the expected impact of their practical usage in real traffic systems. In order to make the book accessible to readers of different backgrounds, some fundamental aspects of traffic theory as well as some basic control concepts, useful for better understanding the addressed topics, are provided in the book. This monograph can be used as a textbook for courses on transport engineering, traffic management and control. It is also addressed to experts working in traffic monitoring and control areas and to researchers, technicians and practitioners of both transportation and control engineering. The authors’ systematic vision of traffic modelling and control methods developed over decades makes the book a valuable survey resource for freeway traffic managers, freeway stakeholders and transportation public authorities with professional interests in freeway traffic systems. Advances in Industrial Control reports and encourages the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.

This monograph explores the design of controllers that suppress oscillations and instabilities in congested traffic flow using PDE backstepping methods. The first part of the text is concerned with basic backstepping control of freeway traffic using the Aw-Rascle-Zhang (ARZ) second-order PDE model. It begins by illustrating a basic control problem – suppressing traffic with stop-and-go oscillations downstream of ramp metering – before turning to the more challenging case for traffic upstream of ramp metering. The authors demonstrate how to design state observers for the purpose of stabilization using output-feedback control. Experimental traffic data are then used to calibrate the ARZ model and validate the boundary observer design. Because large uncertainties may arise in traffic models, adaptive control and reinforcement learning methods are also explored in detail. Part II then extends the conventional ARZ model utilized until this point in order to address more complex traffic conditions: multi-lane traffic, multi-class traffic, networks of freeway segments, and driver use of routing apps. The final chapters demonstrate the use of the Lighthill-Whitham-Richards (LWR) first-order PDE model to regulate congestion in traffic flows and to optimize flow through a bottleneck. In order to make the text self-contained, an introduction to the PDE backstepping method for systems of coupled first-order hyperbolic PDEs is included. Traffic Congestion Control by PDE Backstepping is ideal for control theorists working on control of systems modeled by PDEs and for traffic engineers and applied scientists working on unsteady traffic flows. It will also be a valuable resource for researchers interested in boundary control of coupled systems of first-order hyperbolic PDEs.

This dissertation investigates various aspect of the design and testing of on-ramp metering control systems, including optimization-based control and microscopic freeway modeling. A new technique for generating optimal metering plans is developed. As with most predictive designs, the ramp metering rates are found as the solution to a nonlinear optimization problem. In contrast to previous designs, the new approach 1) produces a globally optimal solution to the nonlinear problem, 2) requires only to solve a single linear program, and 3) allows the enforcement of hard constraints on the on-ramp queue lengths. The price that is paid for these features is that the objective function being minimized is not Total Travel Time, but rather a member of a class of "TTT-like" objective functions. A TTT-like objective function is defined as a linear combination of mainline flows with weights that, similarly to the Total Travel Time cost weights, decrease linearly in time from some initial value to zero at the final time. An example application of the technique shows that the globally optimal metering plan with respect to a TTT-like objective function also performs well in terms of Total Travel Time. A macroscopic analysis of local traffic-responsive ramp metering on a short stretch of freeway, with a single on-ramp and no offramps, is also presented. The study compares the performance of two popular local traffic-responsive ramp metering algorithms: Alinea and Percent-Occupancy, and addresses issues pertaining to parameter tuning and loop-detector placement. The second half of the dissertation describes the construction of a detailed microsimulation model of a stretch of Interstate 210 in Pasadena, CA. The VISSIM microsimulation package was used to create this model. Descriptions of the data gathering and processing procedures, bottleneck identification, network coding, and model calibration are provided. The model is used to test the performance of candidate local traffic-responsive controllers. Questions concerning the relative merits of these controllers, parameter tuning, and loop-detector placement are addressed in the context of the large-scale microscopic model.

Since the beginning of times man always had a deep longing to know the future. As God forbids fortune telling, he nevertheless sends prophets to prepare his people. One of the prophets in the twentieth century was a Pentecostal Pastor called William Branham. In 1933 he received seven prophetic visions on end time events. In the fourth vision he saw cars running automatically on American highways. Cars had no steering wheel and the front passengers were turned backwards playing some kind of game. The roof was completely transparent and cars were egg shaped. This prophecy is now in the process of being fulfilled. In 1997 a dozen of cars moved automatically on a Californian highway. The technology is now present to help establish these highways. Science will soon accomplish what God foretold. This book explains scientifically how and when science will fulfill this prophecy in the twenty first century. For more information contact Edwin Standley: [email protected] Leonidas Muganda and Edwin Standley are Pastor and Engineer in Electronics respectively. They met for the first time at Hull University in England during their studies. Leonidas is married to Francoise and has three sons. He lives in Leicester and is a leader in his church. He has a passion for the word of God that he knows from Genesis to Revelation. Edwin lives in France, and is interested in science and especially automated cars. He read about the ministry and prophecies of a Pastor called William Branham. Leonidas and Edwin decided it was time to write a book explaining how the establishment of automated highways will fulfill what William Branham predicted in his prophecies a long time ago.

The definitive transportation engineering resource--fully revised and updated The two-volume Handbook of Transportation Engineering, Second Edition offers practical, comprehensive coverage of the entire transportation engineering field. Featuring 18 new chapters and contributions from nearly 70 leading experts, this authoritative work discusses all types of transportation systems--freight, passenger, air, rail, road, marine, and pipeline--and provides problem-solving engineering, planning, and design tools and techniques with examples of successful applications. Volume II focuses on applications in automobile and non-automobile transportation, and on safety and environmental issues. VOLUME II COVERS: Traffic engineering analysis Traffic origin-destination estimation Traffic congestion Highway capacity Traffic control systems: freeway management and communications Traffic signals Highway sign visibility Transportation lighting Geometric design of streets and highways Intersection and interchange design Pavement engineering: flexible and rigid pavements Pavement testing and evaluation Bridge engineering Tunnel engineering Pedestrians Bicycle transportation Spectrum of automated guideway transit (AGT) and its applications Railway vehicle engineering Railway track design Improvement of railroad yard operations Modern aircraft design techniques Airport design Air traffic control systems design Ship design Pipeline engineering Traffic safety Transportation hazards Hazardous materials transportation Incident management Network security and survivability Optimization of emergency evacuation plans Transportation noise issues Air quality issues in transportation Transportation and climate change