Fundamental Principles

of Traffic Flow
• Traffic flow theory involves the development
of mathematical relationships among the
primary elements of a traffic stream: flow,
density, and speed.
 Primary Elements of Traffic Flow
• Flow
• Density
• Speed
• Gap or headway between two vehicles in a
traffic stream
 Flow
• Flow (q) is the equivalent hourly rate at which
vehicles pass a point on a highway during a time
period less than 1 hour. It can be determined by:
 Density
• Density (k), sometimes referred to as
concentration, is the number of vehicles
traveling over a unit length of highway at an
instant in time.
• The unit length is usually 1 mile (mi) thereby
making vehicles per mile (veh/mi) the unit of
density.
 Speed
• Speed (u) is the distance traveled by a vehicle
during a unit of time. It can be expressed in
miles per hour (mi/h), kilometers per hour
(km/h), or feet per second (ft /sec).
 Two types of mean speeds
• Time mean speed - is the arithmetic mean of
the speeds of vehicles passing a point on a
highway during an interval of time.
• Space mean speed - is the harmonic mean of
the speeds of vehicles passing a point on a
highway during an interval of time.
Time Mean Speed
 Space Mean Speed
• It is obtained by dividing the total distance
traveled by two or more vehicles on a section
of highway by the total time required by these
vehicles to travel that distance.
• This is the speed that is involved in flow-
density relationships.
Space Mean Speed
 Time Headway
• Time headway (h) is the difference between
the time the front of a vehicle arrives at a
point on the highway and the time the front of
the next vehicle arrives at that same point.
• Time headway is usually expressed in seconds.
 Space Headways
• Space headway (d) is the distance between
the front of a vehicle and the front of the
following vehicle and is usually expressed in
feet.
Five vehicles were traversing a 2-km highway and the following
data were taken:
Vehicle Time (min)
1 1.8
2 1.4
3 1.6
4 1.5
5 1.3

a. Find the density of traffic in vehicles/km

b. Find the space mean speed in kph
c. Compute the time mean speed in kph
In a certain portion of a highway, the recorded peak
hour factor (PHF) during rush hour is 0.90. The highest 5-
minute volume is 250 vehicles and the space mean
speed is 90kph.
a. Find the volume of traffic in vehicles per hour
b. Find the density of traffic in vehicles per km
c. Find the spacing of vehicles in meters
Capacity and Level of Service
• For Highway Segments
• At signalized intersections
 Freeway Defined
• A divided highway with full control of access
and two or more lanes for the exclusive use of
traffic in each direction.
• Assumptions
– No interaction with adjacent facilities (streets,
other freeways)
– Free-flow conditions exist on either side of the
facility being analyzed
– Outside the influence or ramps and weaving areas
Basic Freeway Segment

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Definitions
• Freeway Capacity
– The maximum sustained 15-min flow rate,
expressed in passenger cars per hour per lane,
that can be accommodated by a uniform freeway
segment under prevailing traffic and roadway
conditions in one direction of flow.
 Definitions – Flow Characteristics
• Undersaturated
– Traffic flow that is unaffected by upstream or downstream conditions.

• Queue discharge
– Traffic flow that has just passed through a bottleneck and is
accelerating back to the FFS of the freeway.

• Oversaturated
– Traffic flow that is influenced
by the effects of a
downstream bottleneck.

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Speed vs. Flow

Sf
Free Flow Speed

Uncongested Flow
Speed (mph)

Sm

Optimal flow,
Congested Flow Flow (veh/hr) capacity, vm
Uncongested Flow

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Definitions – Free-Flow Speed
• Free-Flow Speed (FFS)
– The mean speed of passenger cars that can be accommodated under
low to moderate flow rates on a uniform freeway segment under
prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.
• Factors affecting free-flow speed
– Lane width
– Lateral clearance
– Number of lanes
– Interchange density
– Geometric design
 Definitions
• Passenger car equivalents
– Trucks and RVs behave differently
– Baseline is a freeway with all passenger cars
– Traffic is expressed in passenger cars per lane per hour (pc/ln/hr or pcplph)

• Driver population
– Non-commuters suck more at driving
– They may affect capacity

• Capacity
– Corresponds to LOS E and v/c = 1.0
Definitions – Level of Service (LOS)

• Chief measure of “quality of service”

– Describes operational conditions within a traffic
stream.
– Does not include safety
– Different measures for different facilities
• Six measures (A through F)
• Freeway LOS
– Based on traffic density
 Levels of Service
• LOS A
– Free-flow operation

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

• LOS B
– Reasonably free flow
– Ability to maneuver is only
slightly restricted
– Effects of minor incidents still
easily absorbed
 Levels of Service
• LOS C
– Speeds at or near FFS
– Freedom to maneuver is noticeably
restricted
– Queues may form behind any
significant blockage.

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

• LOS D
– Speeds decline slightly with increasing
flows
– Density increases more quickly
– Freedom to maneuver is more
noticeably limited
– Minor incidents create queuing
 Levels of Service
• LOS E
– Operation near or at capacity
– No usable gaps in the traffic stream
– Operations extremely volatile
– Any disruption causes queuing

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

• LOS F
– Breakdown in flow
– Queues form behind
breakdown points
– Demand > capacity
Freeway LOS
 Freeway LOS

LOS Calculation
• Does not consider
– Special lanes reserved for a particular type of vehicle (HOV, truck,
climbing, etc.)
– Extended bridge and tunnel segments
– Segments near a toll plaza
– Facilities with FFS < 55 mi/h or > 75 mi/h
– Demand conditions in excess of capacity
– Influence of downstream blockages or queuing
– Posted speed limit
– Extent of police enforcement
– Intelligent transportation system features
– Capacity-enhancing effects of ramp metering
 Freeway LOS
Input
Geometric Data
Measured FFS or BFFS
Volume
BFFS Input

BFFS Adjustment Volume Adjustment

Lane width PHF
Number of lanes Number of lanes
Interchange density Measured Driver population
Lateral clearance FFS Input Heavy vehicles

Compute FFS Compute flow rate

Define speed-flow curve

Compute density using flow rate and speed

Determine speed using speed-flow curve

Determine LOS
 LOS Criteria for Basic Freeway Segments
Freeway LOS

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

Determining FFS
• Measure FFS in the field
– Low to moderate traffic conditions

• Use a baseline and adjust it (BFFS)

FFS  BFFS  f LW  f LC  f N  f ID
FFS = free-flow speed (mph)
BFFS = base free-flow speed, 70 mph (urban), 75 mph (rural)
fLW = adjustment for lane width (mph)
fLC = adjustment for right-shoulder lateral clearance (mph)
fN = adjustment for number of lanes (mph)
fID = adjustment for interchange density (mph)
 Freeway LOS

Lane Width Adjustment (fLW)

• Base condition (fLW = 0)

– Average width of 12 ft. or wider across all lanes

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

Lateral Clearance Adjustment (fLC)

• Base condition (fLC = 0)

– 6 ft. or greater on right side
– 2 ft. or greater on the median or left side

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

Number of Lanes Adjustment (fN)

• Base condition (fN = 0)

– 5 or more lanes in one direction
– Do not include HOV lanes
– fN = 0 for all rural freeway segments

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

Interchange Density Adjustment (fIC)

• Base condition (fIC = 0)

– 0.5 interchanges per mile (2-mile spacing)
– Interchange defined as having at least one on-ramp
– Determined over 6-mile segment

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

Determining Flow Rate

• Adjust hourly volumes to get pc/ln/hr

V
vp 
PHF  N  f HV  f p

vp = 15-minute passenger-car equivalent flow rate (pcphpl)

V = hourly volume (veh/hr)
PHF = peak hour factor
N = number of lanes in one direction
fHV = heavy-vehicle adjustment factor
fP = driver population adjustment factor
 Freeway LOS

Peak Hour Factor (PHF)

• Typical values
– 0.80 to 0.95
– Lower PHF characteristic of rural or off-peak
– Higher PHF typical of urban peak-hour
V
PHF 
V15  4
V = hourly volume (veh/hr) for hour of analysis
V15 = maxiumum 15-min. flow rate within hour of analysis
4 = Number of 15-min. periods per hour
 Freeway LOS

Heavy Vehicle Adjustment (fHV)

• Base condition (fHV = 1.0)

– No heavy vehicles
– Heavy vehicle = trucks, buses, RVs

• Two-step process
– Determine passenger-car equivalents (ET)
– Determine fHV
 Freeway LOS

Passenger-Car Equivalents (ET)

• Extended segments method
– Determine the type of terrain and select ET
– No one grade of 3% or more is longer than 0.25 miles
OR
– No one grade of less than 3% is longer than 0.5 miles

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

Passenger-Car Equivalents (ET)

• Specific grades method
– Any grade of 3% or more that is longer than 0.25 miles
OR
– Any grade of less than 3% that is longer than 0.5 miles

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

Passenger-Car Equivalents (ET)

 Freeway LOS

Passenger-Car Equivalents (ET)

• Composite grades method
– Determines the effect of a series of steep
grades in succession
– Method OK if…
• All subsection grades are less than 4%
OR
• Total length of composite grade is less than 4000 ft.
– Otherwise, use a detailed technique in the
Highway Capacity Manual (HCM)

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

Determine fHV

1
f HV 
1  PT ET  1  PR E R  1

fHV = Heavy vehicle adjustment factor

ET, ER = Passenger-car equivalents for trucks/buses and RVs
PT, PR = Proportion of trucks/buses and RVs in traffic stream
 Freeway LOS

Driver Population Adjustment (fP)

• Base condition (fP = 1.0)

– Most drivers are familiar with the route
• Commuter drivers
– Typical values between 0.85 and 1.00

• Two-step process
– Determine passenger-car equivalents (ET)
– Determine fHV
 Freeway LOS

Define Speed-Flow Curve

Select a Speed-Flow curve based on FFS

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

Determine Average PC Speed (S)

Use vp and FFS curve to find average passenger car speed (S)

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

 Freeway LOS

Determine Average PC Speed (S)

For 70 < FFS ≤ 75 mph AND (3400 – 30FFS) < vp ≤ 2400
 160  v p  30 FFS  3400  
2.6

S  FFS   FFS    

 3  30 FFS  1000  


For 55 < FFS ≤ 70 mph AND (3400 – 30FFS) < vp ≤ (1700 + 10FFS)
1  v p  30 FFS  3400  
2.6

S  FFS   7 FFS  340   

 9  40 FFS  1700  

For 55 < FFS ≤ 75 mph AND vp < (3400 – 30FFS)

S  FFS
 Freeway LOS

Determine Density
• Calculate density using:

vp
D
S
D = density (pc/mi/ln)
vp = flow rate (pc/hr/ln)
S = average passenger-car speed (mph)
 LOS Criteria for Basic Freeway Segments
LOS
Determine
Freeway LOS

From Highway Capacity Manual, 2000

Design of Pavements
 Pavement Purpose
• Load support
• Smoothness
• Drainage

DC to Richmond Road in 1919 – from the Asphalt Institute

Pavement Condition
Pavement Condition
Pavement Condition
 Pavement Condition

From WSDOT
I – 90 “fat driver” syndrome
 Pavement Condition
• Defined by users (drivers)
• Develop methods to relate physical attributes
to driver ratings
• Result is usually a numerical scale

From the AASHO Road Test

(1956 – 1961)
Present Serviceability Rating (PSR)

Picture from: Highway Research Board Special Report 61A-G

 FYI – NOT TESTABLE

Present Serviceability Index (PSI)

• Values from 0 through 5
• Calculated value to match PSR

PSI  5.41  1.80 log 1  SV  0.9 C  P 
SV = mean of the slope variance in the two wheelpaths
(measured with the CHLOE profilometer or BPR Roughometer)
C, P = measures of cracking and patching in the pavement surface
C = total linear feet of Class 3 and Class 4 cracks per 1000 ft2 of pavement area.
A Class 3 crack is defined as opened or spalled (at the surface) to a width of
0.25 in. or more over a distance equal to at least one-half the crack length.
A Class 4 is defined as any crack which has been sealed.
P = expressed in terms of ft2 per 1000 ft2 of pavement surfacing.
 Typical PSI vs. Time

p0
Serviceability (PSI)

p0 - pt

pt

Time
 Design Parameters
• Subgrade
• Loads
• Environment
 Subgrade
• Characterized by strength
and/or stiffness
– California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
• Measures shearing resistance
• Units: percent
• Typical values: 0 to 20
– Resilient Modulus (MR)
• Measures stress-strain relationship
• Units: psi or MPa
• Typical values: 3,000 to 40,000 psi

Picture from University of Tokyo Geotechnical Engineering Lab

 Subgrade

Some Typical Values

Classification CBR MR (psi) Typical Description
Gravels, crushed stone and sandy
Good ≥ 10 20,000 soils. GW, GP, GM, SW, SP, SM
soils are often in this category.
Clayey gravel and clayey sand, fine
Fair 5–9 10,000 silt soils.  GM, GC, SM, SC soils are
often in this category.
Fine silty sands, clays, silts, organic
Poor 3–5 5,000 soils.  CL, CH, ML, MH, CM, OL, OH
soils are often in this category.
 Loads
• Load characterization
– Tire loads
– Axle and tire configurations
– Load repetition
– Traffic distribution
– Vehicle speed
 Load Quantification

• Equivalent Single Axle Load (ESAL)

– Converts wheel loads of various magnitudes and repetitions ("mixed
traffic") to an equivalent number of "standard" or "equivalent" loads
– Based on the amount of damage they do to the pavement
– Commonly used standard load is the 18,000 lb. equivalent single axle
load

• Load Equivalency
– Generalized fourth power approximation
4
 load 
   relative damage factor
 18,000 lb. 
 Typical LEFs

6
5.11
5
ESALs per Vehicle

1.85
2
1.35
1
0.0007 0.10
0
Car Delivery Truck Loaded 18-Wheeler Loaded 40' Bus Loaded 60'
Articulated Bus

Notice that cars are insignificant and thus usually ignored

in pavement design.
 LEF Example
The standard axle weights for a standing-room-only loaded Metro articulated
bus (60 ft. Flyer) are:
Axle Empty Full
Steering 13,000 lb. 17,000 lb.
Middle 15,000 lb. 20,000 lb.
Rear 9,000 lb. 14,000 lb.
Using the 4th power approximation, determine the total equivalent damage
caused by this bus in terms of ESALs when it is empty. How about when it is
full?
 Environment
• Temperature extremes
• Frost action
– Frost heave
– Thaw weakening
 Pavement Types
• Flexible Pavement
– Hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavements
– Called "flexible" since the total pavement structure bends (or flexes) to
accommodate traffic loads
– About 82.2% of paved U.S. roads use flexible pavement
– About 95.7% of paved U.S. roads are surfaced with HMA

• Rigid Pavement
– Portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements
– Called “rigid” since PCC’s high modulus of elasticity does not allow
them to flex appreciably
– About 6.5% of paved U.S. roads use rigid pavement
 Flexible Pavement
• Structure
– Surface course
– Base course
– Subbase course
– Subgrade
Types of Flexible Pavement

Dense-graded

Open-graded Gap-graded
 FYI – NOT TESTABLE

Flexible Pavement – Construction

 Rigid Pavement
• Structure
– Surface course
– Base course
– Subbase course
– Subgrade
 Types of Rigid Pavement
• Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP)
 Types of Rigid Pavement
• Continuously Reinforced Concrete
Pavement (CRCP)

Photo from the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute

 FYI – NOT TESTABLE

Rigid Pavement – Construction

Slipform

Fixed form
 Pavement Design
• Several typical methods
– Design catalog
– Empirical
• 1993 AASHTO method
– Mechanistic-empirical
• New AASHTO method (as yet unreleased)
 Empirical
• 1993 AASHTO Flexible Equation
 PSI 
log10  
 4.5  1.5 
log10 W18   Z R  S o  9.36  log10 SN  1  0.20   2.32  log10 M R   8.07
1094
0.40 
SN  15.19

• 1993 AASHTO Rigid Equation  

 
 
 PSI   
log10  
log10 W18   Z R  S o  7.35  log10 D  1  0.06   4.5  1.5   4.22  0.32 p  log   0 .

Sc Cd  D  1.132 
75

t 10
1.624  10 7   
1  
D  18.46   18.42  
 215.63J  D 
0.75
0.25 
  Ec   
  k 
     
 Terms – Flexible

• W18 (loading)
– Predicted number of ESALs over the pavement’s life.

• SN (structural number)
– Abstract number expressing structural strength
– SN = a1D1 + a2D2m2 + a3D3m3 + …

• ΔPSI (change in present serviceability index)

– Change in serviceability index over the useful pavement life
– Typically from 1.5 to 3.0

• MR (subgrade resilient modulus)

– Typically from 3,000 to 30,000 psi (10,000 psi is pretty good)
 Terms – Rigid
• D (slab depth)
– Abstract number expressing structural strength
– SN = a1D1 + a2D2m2 + a3D3m3 + …

• S’c (PCC modulus of rupture)

– A measure of PCC flexural strength
– Usually between 600 and 850 psi

• Cd (drainage coefficient)
– Relative loss of strength due to drainage characteristics and the total
time it is exposed to near-saturated conditions
– Usually taken as 1.0
 Terms – Rigid
• J (load transfer coefficient)
– Accounts for load transfer efficiency
– Lower J-factors = better load transfer
– Between 3.8 (undoweled JPCP) and 2.3 (CRCP with tied shoulders)

• Ec (PCC elastic modulus)

– 4,000,000 psi is a good estimate

• k (modulus of subgrade reaction)

– Estimates the support of the PCC slab by the underlying layers
– Usually between 50 and 1000 psi/inch
 New AASHTO Method
• Mechanistic-empirical
• Can use load spectra (instead of ESALs)
• Computationally intensive
– Rigid design takes about 10 to 20 minutes
– Flexible design can take several hours
 Rigid Pavement
Determine the thickness of pavement from the
following conditions:
a. The pavement is rigid and to carry a maximum
wheel load of 60kN. Neglect the effect of
dowels. f’c = 20MPa and use an allowable tensile
stress of concrete pavement equal to 0.06f’c.
b. The concrete pavement has an expansion
pressure of 0.15 kg/cm2 and a pavement density
is 0.0025 kg/cm3.
• A concrete pavement 8m wide and 150mm
thick is to be provided with a center
longitudinal joint using 12mm bars. The unit
weight of concrete is 2400 kg/m3. Coefficient
of friction of the slab on the grade is 2.0.
Assuming an allowable stress in tension for
steel at 138MPa, determine the spacing of
bars.
 Primary References
• Traffic and Highway Engineering 4th Edition by Garber and Hoel

• Highway Capacity Manual 2000

• Mannering, F.L.; Kilareski, W.P. and Washburn, S.S. (2005). Principles of

Highway Engineering and Traffic Analysis, Third Edition. Chapter 4

• Muench, S.T.; Mahoney, J.P. and Pierce, L.M. (2003) The WSDOT
Pavement Guide Interactive. WSDOT, Olympia, WA.
http://guides.ce.washington.edu/uw/wsdot

• Muench, S.T. (2002) WAPA Asphalt Pavement Guide. WAPA, Seattle, WA.
http://www.asphaltwa.com