Identifying Sensitivity of a Simulation Model to Speed Data in the Midwest United States

• Main Author: Salehi, Reza
• Language: EN
• Published: Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville 2018
• Subjects: Transportation
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10844080

<p> Engineering practitioners using microsimulation tools to models traffic impacts, have limited guidelines from municipalities regarding how drivers behave. In the Midwest of the United States, drivers may behave similarly on certain types of roads. The objective of this study was to see whether there are significant differences in travel time and delays when using different drivers&rsquo; behavior input on VISSIM. </p><p> To conduct this study, the researcher studied two locations that had traffic simulation models already available. The first study site was a section of MO-364, which is in the northwest of Saint Louis area, and the second study site was along US-76 in Branson, Missouri. MO-364 and I-270 have posted speed limit of 60 mph. The researcher collected free-flow speed data from both sites and put the inputs-desired speed distributions- into VISSIM for MO-364 model. The software gave outputs for travel time, delays on the links and delays on delays on the nodes. The researcher did the same procedure for US-76 model for US-76 corridor and Northwest University Rd. </p><p> To see whether there were any differences in travel time and delays by choosing different drivers&rsquo; behavior, the researcher collected free flow speed in all the roads and put it into VISSIM to see the outcomes of 1) Travel time, 2) Delay on the links, and 3) Delay on the intersections. In order to analyze the results, paired two sample t-test was used through Microsoft Excel. </p><p> The results showed that there are significant differences in travel time and delay on the links that have little congestion during the study period. However, in the roads that have more congestion, statistical analysis proved that based on paired two sample t-test with 95 percent confidence interval, the differences are significant in those features. The only feature that remained the same in any condition was delay on the nodes (intersections). This result means that for simulation studies focused on measuring intersection delay, driver speed behavior can be applied from other locations within the region and need-not be collected at the specific study site.</p><p>