Brazil Nut Effect in Roads that Allow Cars and Motorbikes to Pass Through

TL;DR

This study investigates a Brazil nut effect-like phenomenon on roads where cars and motorbikes pass together, revealing segregation patterns similar to granular materials through aerial observations and simulations.

Contribution

It is the first to analyze BNE-like segregation in traffic flow on mixed vehicle roads using aerial imagery and modeling.

Findings

Motorbikes tend to segregate in front of cars over time.

BNE-like phenomena are observed both visually and in simulations.

The study links granular physics phenomena to real-world traffic behavior.

Abstract

In some countries, cars and motorbikes are allowed to pass through the same road. We observe a phenomenon similar to a Brazil nut effect (BNE) that frequently occurs on such roads, in which motorbikes (representations of small particles) segregate in front of cars (representations of large particles), although the motorbikes are initially located far behind the cars. Deep investigations of the BNE-like phenomena in such roads are reported here, where a combination of aerial views using a quad-copter camera and simulations is studied. We show for the first time that most phenomena observed in common BNEs are also observed in such roads.