Team Number: 032
Team Number: 032
School Name: Goddard High
Area of Science: Social Science
Project Title: Vehicular Traffic Congestion Modeling due to Highway Lane Addition or Reduction
Problem Definition: Vehicular traffic flow can be greatly affected by the number of lanes on a highway. By changing the number of lanes, we will determine whether there will be a significant change in traffic flow.
Problem Solution: When a lane is closed on a busy highway, perhaps due to construction, accidents, or maintenance, traffic flow may slow to a crawl, causing increased travel time and increased highway latency. Conversely, building additional lanes may eliminate congestion and result in smooth flowing traffic, reducing travel time and increasing efficiency. Modeling the flow of traffic before lanes are closed or added is important when one is planning road construction. Planners can predict negative effects on traffic due to construction projects before the project begins. They can also predict the benefits of adding lanes to a highway. Some of the characteristics our model will consider are vehicle density, distance traveled, and average speed. With our model highway planners can predict vehicular traffic flow before construction begins
Progress to Date: There has been significant progress in the planning stage of this project. We have a diagram that breaks down our program into four major sections: the database, the visual matrix, the car objects, and the lanes. Since JAVA is somewhat different than C++, John and David are working on learning the basics of programming to try and get a feel for how it works and how to use it. Of the core of the program, we are working currently on the visual matrix, which is the grid the objects and graphics of our program will be placed on. When it is completed we will implement the other sections of the program into it. Also, they have a working plan of what the program is supposed to do when it is finished. Brent and Dusty are deciphering the research so they can understand how Traffic Flow works. We have a document that describes how civil engineers deal with this problem. From the document we have learned the characteristics of traffic flow, which are flow rate, spe! ed, concentration. Our understanding of this knowledge will help John and David program by knowing real-life characteristics of highway traffic. We have looked over it and determined that it contains everything that we will probably need for research. They have an outline of the main topics that the research covers. Jack will help us complete and design the posters and the reports.
Expected Results: A program that models traffic flow based on real-world functions. There will be several personalities for the cars that will be used randomly.
Team Members
Sponsoring Teacher
Project Mentor