Parallel Solution of a Traffic Flow Simulation Problem

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods for solving traffic flow continuum models have been studied and efficiently implemented in traffic simulation codes in the past. This is the first time that such methods are studied from the point of view of parallel computing. We studied and implemented an implicit numerical method for solving the high-order flow conservation traffic model on parallel computers. Implicit methods allow much larger time-step than explicit methods, for the same accuracy. However, at each time-step a nonlinear system must be solved. We used the Newton method coupled with a linear iterative method (Orthomin). We accelerated the convergence of Orthomin with parallel incomplete LU factorization preconditionings. We ran simulation tests with real traffic data from an 12-mile freeway section (in Minnesota) on the nCUBE2 parallel computer. These tests gave the same accuracy as past tests, which were performed on one-processor computers, and the overall execution time was significantly reduced.

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