Integrated variable speed limit and ramp metering control study on flow interaction between mainline and ramps
Open Access
- 13 March 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Advances in Mechanical Engineering
- Vol. 11 (3)
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1687814019831913
Abstract
During peak periods, bottlenecks are often triggered by excessive demand from both on-ramp and mainline input flows. To relieve bottleneck severity and improve traffic safety, ramp metering and variable speed limit are implemented to control the on-ramp and mainline input flows, and sometimes they are integrated. This article presents a proactive integrated control, with goals to save network-wide travel time and increase traffic flow. A METANET-based macroscopic traffic model was adopted as a prediction model. Micro-simulation tests were performed to evaluate and compare the control approaches among integrated and isolated control scenarios. By decoupling the traffic prediction and simulation models, the control error sources were analyzed. The evaluation revealed that both isolated and integrated controls benefit the traffic network to different extents under varying demand scenarios. Under proactive integrated control, ramp metering is activated solely during slight congestion; or it is activated during high-congestion periods to assist variable speed limit and thus integration maximizes the infrastructure utility.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (61703236)
- Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2017QF014, ZR2018MF027)
- Qilu Transportation Development Group Co., Ltd (2016B20)
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