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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Dynamics and Thermodynamics of Traffic Flow

Hans WeberChristof LiebeReinhard MahnkeJevgenijs Kaupužs

subject

PhysicsMicroscopic traffic flow modelInternal energyLimit cycleThermodynamicsFixed pointSpace (mathematics)Traffic flowKinetic energyStationary state

description

Application of thermodynamics to traffic flow is discussed. On a microscopic level, traffic flow is described by Bando’s optimal velocity model in terms of accelerating and decelerating forces. It allows us to introduce kinetic, potential, as well as a total energy, which is the internal energy of the car system in view of thermodynamics. The total energy is however not conserved, although it has a certain value in any of the two possible stationary states corresponding either to a fixed point or to a limit cycle solution in the space of headways and velocities.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2009-01-01
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-77074-9_47