Calculations http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/niattproject/backgroundbasic2.

htm

Cantataweb

Related Searches
Signal Timing Tutorial
Basic Signals Actuated Signals Cooridnated Signals HILS References/Overview
Home > Basic Signals > Background > Calculations

navigate to...
?

College And
University In Houston
Texas Signal Operations

Overlap Phasing
Houston Downtown

Brigham Young
Exploration
University-Idaho

University Of quick links...

Houston-Clear Lake
Case Studies
Office Of The
Provost

Idaho State
Tools
University

Calculations
The following calculations and terms are important in determining signal timing plans:

Critical Volume Headway and Saturation Flow Rate (s)

Lost Time (tL) v/c Ratio

Peak Hour Factor (PHF) Cycle Length (C)

Green Time Capacity

Critical Volume(Vc)

During any given signal phase, prescribed sets of traffic movements are given the right-
of-way. The phase diagram shown on the Signal Operations page is a useful illustration
associating sets of traffic movements to their respective phases. For each phase, one of
the movements will have the maximum traffic volume per lane and this volume is known

1 of 6 10/12/2014 9:58 PM
Calculations http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/niattproject/backgroundbasic2.htm

Cantataweb as the critical lane volume. The sum of all critical lane volumes served in a cycle is
known as the critical volume (Vc).
Related Searches
When calculating cycle lengths and green times, it is much easier if you are working with
a single type of vehicle. This is because different types of vehicles behave differently and
vehicles executing different turning movements behave differently. A car turning left is
generally not going to accelerate as quickly as a car going straight. Therefore, before the
critical volume is calculated, it is important to make sure that all of the volumes are in
?
through car equivalent units (tcus). TCUS are generated by multiplying the original
College And
volumes by factors to account for the added congestion that turners, both right and left,
University In Houston add to the traffic flow. Turners add congestion generally because they must slow down to
Texas go around the corners, and in the case of left turners, there are situations in which they
block through lanes while waiting to turn. Tables with tcus factors can be found here. We
must also adjust for heavy truck traffic. Trucks take more physical space on the roadway
Houston Downtown
than cars, and they generally move more slowly, especially in cities. For these reasons,
we must divide the volumes by a heavy vehicle factor (fHV). This factor is given by:
Brigham Young
University-Idaho

University Of
Where %HV is the percentage of heavy vehicles.
Houston-Clear Lake
Example
Office Of The
Assuming the volumes have already been factored for tcus and heavy
Provost vehicles, use the volumes for each movement shown in the figure to find the
critical volume.
Idaho State
Solution
University
To find the critical volume, we must first find the critical lane volumes. This
is the highest movement volume in the phase, divided by the number of
lanes. The critical volume is the sum of the critical lane volumes.

2 of 6 10/12/2014 9:58 PM
Calculations http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/niattproject/backgroundbasic2.htm

Cantataweb

Related Searches

College And
University In Houston
Texas

Houston Downtown

Brigham Young
University-Idaho

University Of
Houston-Clear Lake The critical volume is: Vc =160+280+365 = 805 v.p.h.

Office Of The Top

Provost Headway (h) and Saturation Flow Rate (s)

Idaho State Saturation flow rate is the number of vehicles served by a lane for one hour of green
time. In order to determine saturation flow rate, we must know the headway and
University saturation headway. Headway is the time interval between the passage of successive
vehicles moving in the same lane measured from head to head as they pass a point on the
road.

Saturation headway is the headway of the vehicles in a "stable moving platoon" passing
through a green light. A stable moving platoon is a group of vehicles that are traveling,
but not really moving in relation to each other (i.e. all going the same speed). The
headway of the first four vehicles leaving an intersection after a red light will have a
higher value so the saturation headway will not be realized until the 4th or 5th queued
vehicle leaves the intersection.

If every vehicle requires a time equal to the saturation headway (h), in seconds, to be
serviced at a signalized intersection, then the maximum number of vehicles that can be
serviced in an hour of green is given by the equation s = 3600/h, where s is saturation flow
rate, in veh/hr.

Top

Lost Time

Unfortunately, intersections are not constantly in use. There may always be cars waiting
for the light, but there are times when there is no one actually in the intersection. Lost
time is a measure of this no-use time, and it takes into account lost time at the beginning
and ends of a phase. At the beginning of the green time, actual headway will be relatively
longer than saturation headway for the first four vehicles, which includes driver reaction

3 of 6 10/12/2014 9:58 PM
Calculations http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/niattproject/backgroundbasic2.htm

Cantataweb time and the time necessary for acceleration. In the graph below, the horizontal line at
"h" is the saturation headway.
Related Searches

College And
University In Houston
Texas

Houston Downtown

Brigham Young
University-Idaho

University Of Startup Lost Time Graph

Houston-Clear Lake
The sum of the time difference between the saturation headway and the first four
headways is known as start-up lost time. In addition to start-up lost time there is lost
Office Of The time when the right of way changes, known as clearance lost time. It is the time between
Provost the last vehicle entering the intersection and the initiation of green on the next phase.

So the total lost time (tL ) in one phase is the sum of start-up lost time and the clearance
Idaho State
lost time and the total lost time for a cycle is the lost time per phase multiplied by the
University number of phases per cycle.

Top

Desired V/C Ratio (v/c)des

The v/c ratio is the ratio of current flow rate to capacity of the facility. It is an indicator
of the quality of the operations at an intersection.

v/c = (rate of flow) / capacity

v/c ratio is part of the design criteria and is a value we are hoping to attain when timing a
traffic signal. To test this value at an existing intersection, we can get the flow rate from
traffic counts and capacity can be calculated based on the signal timing plan.

A ratio that is greater than 1.0 predicts that the facility will fail, because it is unable to
discharge the demand arriving at the section. Usually a value between 0.85 to 0.95 is
considered desirable for design purposes.

Top

Peak Hour Factor (PHF)

The relation between hourly volume and the maximum probable rate of flow within an
hour is defined by the peak hour factor (PHF).

4 of 6 10/12/2014 9:58 PM
Calculations http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/niattproject/backgroundbasic2.htm

Cantataweb PHF = Hourly Volume / Maximum rate of flow

Related Searches The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) recommends a minimum time interval of 15
minutes for most operational and design analysis. So the PHF can be given as:

V = Peak hourly volume (veh/hr)

V15 = maximum 15 minute volume
?

College And within the peak hour (veh).

University In Houston
Texas For 15-minute periods, the maximum value of the PHF is 1.00 and the minimum value is
0.25. The normal range of values is between 0.70 and 0.98.
Houston Downtown
Top

Brigham Young Cycle Length Calculation

University-Idaho
Cycle length is the amount of time from when a movement first is given the right of way
until that movement receives it again. It is calculated using the equation below.
University Of Generally, agencies have some minimum cycle length below which they will not program
Houston-Clear Lake their signals. This is because there would be too many phases per hour, and therefore too
much lost time. For our examples, we will use 45 seconds as a minimum.
Office Of The
Provost N = Number of phases in one cycle

tL = Total lost time per phase (sec)

Idaho State
University Vc = Critical volume (vph)

PHF = Peak Hour Factor

v/
c desired = Desired volume/capacity ratio

h = Saturation Headway (sec)

Top

Green Time Calculations

Once the cycle length has been established, it is necessary to determine the green split,
or how long each phase will have the right of way (green indication). First we must
calculate the effective green time, which is the time that a movement is going, regardless
of the indication shown (i.e. people going on yellow or not going at the start of a phase).
Effective green time is calculated using the equation below.

gi = Effective green time (sec)

Vci = Critical volume for phase (veh/ln·hr)
Vc = Total critical volume (veh/ln·hr)
C = Cycle Length (sec)

5 of 6 10/12/2014 9:58 PM
Calculations http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/niattproject/backgroundbasic2.htm

Cantataweb L = Total lost time (t L · N) (sec)

Related Searches

Actual green time is based on the effective green time, and takes into account the lost
time and the all-red and yellow time to come up with a value to use in programming the
signal. Actual green time is calculated using the equation below.

College And
Gi = Actual green time (sec)
tL = Lost time per phase (sec)
University In Houston
Yi = Yellow and all-red time (sec)
Texas

Houston Downtown Top

Capacity
Brigham Young
University-Idaho Intersection capacity is complex and involves many different factors. It is outlined in
detail in the Highway Capacity Manual, but we will give it a cursory treatment.
University Of We have an equation to estimate the lane capacity at a signalized intersection. To find the
Houston-Clear Lake approach capacity, add up the lane capacities. The equation is as follows:

Office Of The
ci = Capacity of one approach lane (passenger cars
Provost
per lane per hour)

Idaho State h = Saturation headway (2 sec for our cases)

University
gi = Effective green time for the approach (sec)

Variables defined previously

C = Cycle length (sec)

The equation gives us the capacity in passenger cars with a normal headway. However,
large trucks and turning vehicles will not necessarily have normal headways. For that
reason, when we are comparing volumes to capacities (such as with the v/c ratio) we
must use volumes that have been factored for heavy vehicles and turning movements.

Moving On...

Now that you have gone over the Phasing and Calculations materials, you may either
move on to the Exploration section and complete Case Studies 1-3, or you may continue
on with the background materials to Overlap Phasing.

Top

6 of 6 10/12/2014 9:58 PM