A modified Physarum-inspired model for the user equilibrium traffic assignment problem

TL;DR

This paper introduces a modified Physarum-inspired model that effectively solves the user equilibrium traffic assignment problem in complex networks with multiple origin-destination pairs, demonstrating improved efficiency and convergence.

Contribution

The paper proposes a novel Physarum-inspired model that decomposes traffic flux by origin, enhancing solution efficiency for complex traffic networks.

Findings

Model achieves equilibrium where no shorter paths exist.

Numerical tests confirm rationality and convergence.

Effective in networks with two-way traffic and multiple O-D pairs.

Abstract

The user equilibrium traffic assignment principle is very important in the traffic assignment problem. Mathematical programming models are designed to solve the user equilibrium problem in traditional algorithms. Recently, the Physarum shows the ability to address the user equilibrium and system optimization traffic assignment problems. However, the Physarum model are not efficient in real traffic networks with two-way traffic characteristics and multiple origin-destination pairs. In this article, a modified Physarum-inspired model for the user equilibrium problem is proposed. By decomposing traffic flux based on origin nodes, the traffic flux from different origin-destination pairs can be distinguished in the proposed model. The Physarum can obtain the equilibrium traffic flux when no shorter path can be discovered between each origin-destination pair. Finally, numerical examples use the Sioux Falls network to demonstrate the rationality and convergence properties of the proposed model.