Proof of the connection between the Backman model with degenerate cost functions and the model of stable dynamics

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Since 1950s the field of city transport modelling has progressed rapidly. The first equilibrium distribution models of traffic flow appeared. The most popular model (which is still being widely used) was the Beckmann model, based on the two Wardrop principles. The core of the model could be briefly described as the search for the Nash equilibrium in a population demand game, in which losses of agents (drivers) are calculated based on the chosen path and demands of this path with correspondences being fixed. The demands (costs) of a path are calculated as the sum of the demands of different path segments (graph edges), that are included in the path. The costs of an edge (edge travel time) are determined by the amount of traffic on this edge (more traffic means larger travel time). The flow on a graph edge is determined by the sum of flows over all paths passing through the given edge. Thus, the cost of traveling along a path is determined not only by the choice of the path, but also by the paths other drivers have chosen. Thus, it is a standard game theory task. The way cost functions are constructed allows us to narrow the search for equilibrium to solving an optimization problem (game is potential in this case). If the cost functions are monotone and non-decreasing, the optimization problem is convex. Actually, different assumptions about the cost functions form different models. The most popular model is based on the BPR cost function. Such functions are massively used in calculations of real cities. However, in the beginning of the XXI century, Yu. E. Nesterov and A. de Palma showed that Beckmann-type models have serious weak points. Those could be fixed using the stable dynamics model, as it was called by the authors. The search for equilibrium here could be also reduced to an optimization problem, moreover, the problem of linear programming. In 2013, A.V.Gasnikov discovered that the stable dynamics model can be obtained by a passage to the limit in the Beckmann model. However, it was made only for several practically important, but still special cases. Generally, the question if this passage to the limit is possible remains open. In this paper, we provide the justification of the possibility of the above-mentioned passage to the limit in the general case, when the cost function for traveling along the edge as a function of the flow along the edge degenerates into a function equal to fixed costs until the capacity is reached and it is equal to plus infinity when the capacity is exceeded.

Keywords: equilibrium distribution model of traffic flow, Beckmann’s transportation network equilibrium model, stable dynamics model
Citation in English: Kotliarova E.V., Krivosheev K.Yu., Gasnikova E.V., Sharovatova Y.I., Shurupov A.V. Proof of the connection between the Backman model with degenerate cost functions and the model of stable dynamics // Computer Research and Modeling, 2022, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 335-342
Citation in English: Kotliarova E.V., Krivosheev K.Yu., Gasnikova E.V., Sharovatova Y.I., Shurupov A.V. Proof of the connection between the Backman model with degenerate cost functions and the model of stable dynamics // Computer Research and Modeling, 2022, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 335-342
DOI: 10.20537/2076-7633-2022-14-2-335-342

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