Author(s)

Tolesa Hundesa¹, Legesse Lemecha², Purnachandra Rao Koya¹

¹School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
²Department of Mathematics, Adama Science and Technology University, Adama, Ethiopia.

In this paper, a new numerical scheme for solving first-order hyperbolic partial differential equations is proposed and is implemented in the simulation study of macroscopic traffic flow model with constant velocity and linear velocity-density relationship. Macroscopic traffic flow model is first developed by Lighthill Whitham and Richards (LWR) and used to study traffic flow by collective variables such as flow rate, velocity and density. The LWR model is treated as an initial value problem and its numerical simulations are presented using numerical schemes. A variety of numerical schemes are available in literature to solve first order hyperbolic equations. Of these the well-known ones include one-dimensional explicit: Upwind, Downwind, FTCS, and Lax-Friedrichs schemes. Having been studied carefully the space and time mesh sizes, and the patterns of all these schemes, a new scheme has been developed and named as one-dimensional explicit Tolesa numerical scheme. Tolesa numerical scheme is one of the conditionally stable and highest rates of convergence schemes. All the said numerical schemes are applied to solve advection equation pertaining traffic flows. Also the one-dimensional explicit Tolesa numerical scheme is another alternative numerical scheme to solve advection equation and apply to traffic flows model like other well-known one-dimensional explicit schemes. The effect of density of cars on the overall interactions of the vehicles along a given length of the highway and time are investigated. Graphical representations of density profile, velocity profile, flux profile, and in general the fundamental diagrams of vehicles on the highway with different time levels are illustrated. These concepts and results have been arranged systematically in this paper.

Hyperbolic Equation, Advection Equation, Tolesa Numerical Scheme, Traffic Flow, Numerical Simulation

Hundesa, T. , Lemecha, L. and Koya, P. (2019) One-Dimensional Explicit Tolesa Numerical Scheme for Solving First Order Hyperbolic Equations and Its Application to Macroscopic Traffic Flow Model. Applied Mathematics, 10, 119-137. doi: 10.4236/am.2019.103011.