Quasi-dynamic estimation of o–d flows from traffic counts: Formulation,statistical validation and performance analysis on real data

The paper proposes a “quasi-dynamic” framework for estimation of origin–destination (o–d) flow from traffic counts, under the assumption that o–d shares are constant across a reference period, whilst total flows leaving each origin vary for each sub-period within the reference period. The advantage of this approach over conventional within-day dynamic estimators is that of reducing drastically the number of unknowns given the same set of observed time-varying traffic counts. Obviously, the gain in accuracy depends on how realistic is the underlying assumption that total demand levels vary more rapidly over time than o–d shares. Firstly, the paper proposes a theoretical specification of the quasi-dynamic estimator. Subsequently, it proposes empirical and statistical tests to check the quasi-dynamic assumption and then compares the performances of the quasi-dynamic estimator of o–d flows with both classical off-line simultaneous dynamic estimators and on-line recursive Kalman filter-based estimators. Experiments are carried out on the real test site of A4–A23 motorways in North-Eastern Italy. Results confirm the acceptability of the assumption of quasi-dynamic o–d flows, even under the hypothesis of constant distribution shares for the whole day and show that the quasi-dynamic estimator outperforms significantly the simultaneous estimator. Data also suggest that using the quasi-dynamic estimates instead of the simultaneous estimates as historical o–d flows improves significantly the performances of the Kalman filter, which strongly depends of the quality of the seed o–d flows. In addition, it is shown that the aggregation of quasi-dynamic o–d estimates across subsequent time slices represents also the most effective way to obtain o–d estimates for larger time horizons (e.g. hourly estimates). Finally, a validation based on an hold-out sample of link flows (i.e. counts not used as inputs in the o–d estimation/updating process) revealed the quasi-dynamic estimator to be overall more robust and effective with respect to the other tested estimators.     

浅谈公路工程估算编制的新规则

新的《公路工程基本建设项目投资估算编制办法》和《公路工程估算指标》自2012年1月1日正式实施。取代1996编办和指标,针对估算编制的新规则,分析总结新旧差异,为以后估算编制工作提供指导。     

大跨连续刚构桥施工线形控制技术

通过对大跨径预应力混凝土连续刚构梁桥施工过程中结构的线形测试,经过合理结构分析计算,研究其施工过程中的线形变化规律,并根据现场实测数据和采用有效控制方法,给出合理的立模标高,使大桥顺利合龙。     

TransCAD平台下OD矩阵反推结果对比研究

在介绍基于T ransCAD软件平台下OD矩阵反推方法基础上,设计不同的OD矩阵反推方案。通过方案反推结果之间的对比,研究基于路段交通量反推OD矩阵的结果精度与交通分配方法、路段拥挤程度、种子OD矩阵以及路段交通量调查点覆盖范围之间的关系。     

基于模糊神经网络的驾驶员弯道安全感受预测模型研究

论述了在人-车-路(环境)系统中驾驶员弯道安全感受的非线性特性。为了体现车辆、道路结构对驾驶员认知过程的作用和认知结果形成的影响,驾驶员弯道安全感受模型采用弯道平曲半径、车辆运行速度和驾驶员驾龄作为道路线形、车辆结构动力性、驾驶员经验的主要特征参数集,在增加积极和消极补偿运算的基础上,构建出模糊逻辑推理规则与神经网络优化逼近运算相互结合的5层推理预测模型,并结合实例数据,进行了对比分析验证,表明5层结构模型能够较好的满足特定弯道条件下驾驶员主观安全感受的认知推理预测要求,能够准确的、稳定的再现出驾驶员主观安全感受同驾龄、平曲半径和车辆运行速度间的相互作用关系。     

Dual extended Kalman filter for vehicle state and parameter estimation

The article demonstrates the implementation of a model-based vehicle estimator, which can be used for combined estimation of vehicle states and parameters. The estimator is realised using the dual extended Kalman filter (DEKF) technique, which makes use of two Kalman filters running in parallel, thus 'splitting' the state and parameter estimation problems. Note that the two problems cannot be entirely separated due to their inherent interdependencies. This technique provides several advantages, such as the possibility to switch off the parameter estimator, once a sufficiently good set of estimates has been obtained. The estimator is based on a four-wheel vehicle model with four degrees of freedom, which accommodates the dominant modes only, and is designed to make use of several interchangeable tyre models. The paper demonstrates the appropriateness of the DEKF. Results to date indicate that this is an effective approach, which is considered to be of potential benefit to the automotive industry.     

Towards a generic benchmarking platform for origin–destination flows estimation/updating algorithms: Design,demonstration and validation

Estimation/updating of Origin–Destination (OD) flows and other traffic state parameters is a classical, widely adopted procedure in transport engineering, both in off-line and in on-line contexts. Notwithstanding numerous approaches proposed in the literature, there is still room for considerable improvements, also leveraging the unprecedented opportunity offered by information and communication technologies and big data. A key issue relates to the unobservability of OD flows in real networks – except from closed highway systems – thus leading to inherent difficulties in measuring performance of OD flows estimation/updating methods and algorithms. Starting from these premises, the paper proposes a common evaluation and benchmarking framework, providing a synthetic test bed, which enables implementation and comparison of OD estimation/updating algorithms and methodologies under “standardized” conditions. The framework, implemented in a platform available to interested parties upon request, has been flexibly designed and allows comparing a variety of approaches under various settings and conditions. Specifically, the structure and the key features of the framework are presented, along with a detailed experimental design for the application of different dynamic OD flow estimation algorithms. By way of example, applications to both off-line/planning and on-line algorithms are presented, together with a demonstration of the extensibility of the presented framework to accommodate additional data sources.     

Real-time traffic state estimation in urban corridors from heterogeneous data

In recent years, rapid advances in information technology have led to various data collection systems which are enriching the sources of empirical data for use in transport systems. Currently, traffic data are collected through various sensors including loop detectors, probe vehicles, cell-phones, Bluetooth, video cameras, remote sensing and public transport smart cards. It has been argued that combining the complementary information from multiple sources will generally result in better accuracy, increased robustness and reduced ambiguity. Despite the fact that there have been substantial advances in data assimilation techniques to reconstruct and predict the traffic state from multiple data sources, such methods are generally data-driven and do not fully utilize the power of traffic models. Furthermore, the existing methods are still limited to freeway networks and are not yet applicable in the urban context due to the enhanced complexity of the flow behavior. The main traffic phenomena on urban links are generally caused by the boundary conditions at intersections, un-signalized or signalized, at which the switching of the traffic lights and the turning maneuvers of the road users lead to shock-wave phenomena that propagate upstream of the intersections. This paper develops a new model-based methodology to build up a real-time traffic prediction model for arterial corridors using data from multiple sources, particularly from loop detectors and partial observations from Bluetooth and GPS devices.     

Estimating travel time functions for urban roads: options and issues

Travel time functions specify the relationship between the travel time on a road and the volume of traffic on the road. Until recently, the parameters of travel time functions were rarely estimated in practice; however, a compelling case can be made for the empirical examination of these functions. This paper reviews, and qualitatively evaluates, a range of options for developing a set of travel time functions. A hierarchy of travel time functions is defined based on four levels of network detail: area, corridor, route and link. This hierarchy is illustrated by considering the development of travel time functions for Adelaide. Alternative sources of data for estimating travel time functions are identified.

In general, the costs and benefits increase as the travel time functions are estimated at finer levels of network detail. The costs of developing travel time functions include data acquisition costs and analysis costs. The benefits include the potential for reducing prediction errors, the degree of application flexibility and the policy sensitivity of the travel time functions.     

铁路小半径曲线刚构-连续梁桥设计研究

为研究小半径曲线刚构-连续梁桥的受力特点,以某(36+60+36)m铁路刚构-连续梁桥为背景进行分析。采用BSAS、MIDAS、ANSYS建立有限元模型,针对该桥小半径、施工复杂等特点,从弯扭耦合效应、刚度、变形、稳定性等方面进行详细分析,结果表明:该桥具有足够的强度、刚度和稳定性。