Congestion analysis of traffic networks with direction-dependant heterogeneity

Traffic flow directionality and network weight asymmetry are widespread notions in traffic networks. This paper investigates the influence of direction-dependant heterogeneity on traffic congestion. To capture the effect of the link directionality and link weight asymmetry, the heterogeneity indexes of complex networks and the traffic flow model are introduced. The numerical results show that the critical value of heterogeneity determines congestion transition processes. The congestion degree increases with heterogeneity when the network heterogeneity is at a subcritical region. A network is more tolerant of congestion if the heterogeneity of the network is smaller or larger than the critical value. Furthermore, when heterogeneity reaches the critical value, the average number of accumulated vehicles arrives at the maximum and the traffic flow is under a serious congestion state. A significant improvement on the tolerance to congestion of traffic networks can be nude if the network heterogeneity is controlled within a reasonable range. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.