Capacity Analysis of Signalised Intersection using Micro- simulation

Micro-simulation models are rapidly gaining acceptance as promising tools to analyse and evaluate ITS and other traffic control and management measures. Capacity is a primary concept in most of traffic engineering studies, however micro-simulation models generally ignore this concept. There are significant numbers of studies on capacity analysis based on analytical approaches including Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) and the Australian Research Report (ARR 123). The analyses conducted using micro-simulation reflected under representation of capacity however such studies are limited in numbers and scope. This paper reports an investigation conducted using AIMSUN micro-simulation model to analyse the capacity and queue discharge flow rate at a signalised intersection in Auckland. The micro-simulation model was calibrated using realistic local parameters to represent the real world situation. The results from this calibrated model were first verified against the data collected from loop detectors and then compared with results from analytical approaches including HCM and ARR 123. The comparative analysis showed that micro-simulation presents reasonable representation of actual traffic conditions when flow volumes are high. In the light of favourable research findings, it is concluded that AIMSUN is a viable tool for the evaluation and capacity analysis of a signalised intersection.