UNIVERSITI

TEKNOLOGI

CEG 552 – HIGHWAY AND TRAFFIC ENGINEERING

MARA
KAMPUS PULAU PINANG

AFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT

NAME OF PRACTICAL: SATURATION FLOW

DATE OF ASSESSMENT: 19th OCTOBER 2020 GROUP: PEC221 5F2

LECTURER: MOHD IZZAT BIN JOOHARI

CO3 : Present laboratory findings.

PO10: Ability to impart effectively complex engineering activities through presentations, written and verbal communications to the
engineering community and society at large.

No. STUDENT ID GROUP MEMBER’S NAME

1. 2019452178 MUHAMMAD IRSYAD SYAHMI BIN ABDUL JAMAL (LEADER)
2. 2019814318 MUHAMMAD IZZUDDIN BIN MOHD
3. 2019814578 SADIQUE BIN MOHD TAHARIM
4. 2019452028 MUHAMMAD ZULHANIN BIN MOHD RAFI

AFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE RUBRIC

PERFORMANCE SCALE
NO. CRITERIA Developing Functional Proficient Advanced
1 2 3 4 5
Written work Written work has weak Written work has Written work has clear Written work has well-
organizational beginning, development adequate beginning, and appropriate defined beginning,
structure and and conclusion. development and beginning, development and
Structure paragraphing have Paragraphing and conclusion. development and conclusion. Paragraphing
1
(A1) serious and persistent transitions are also Paragraphing and conclusion. and transitions are also
errors. deficient. transitions are also Paragraphing and clear and distinct.
adequate. transitions are also
clear and appropriate.
Written work does not Written work does not do Written work has Written work provides Written work provides
cover the assigned an adequate job of sufficiently cover the in-depth coverage of comprehensive coverage
Content topic, and assertions covering the assigned topic, and assertions the topic, and of the topic, and
2 are not supported by topic, and assertions are supported by assertions are clearly assertions are supported
(A2)
evidence. are weakly supported by evidence. supported by evidence. by easily understood
evidence. evidence.
Data collected was not Data collected was Data collected was Data collected was Data collected was
Analysis and relevant and not relevant but not sufficient relevant and sufficient relevant, related to the relevant, related to the
3 Interpretation sufficient to analyze to analyze and interpret to analyze and objectives and objectives, sufficient to
of Data (A3) and interpret interpret sufficient to analyze analyze and accurate
and interpret interpretation of data
No discussion on the Discussion on the results Little discussion on Description of result Result and discussion are
meaning of was very difficult to what result mean and was generally clear. clearly stated, through
experimental results follow, no discussion on implications of results. Some discussion on discussion on what results
and very difficult to the meaning of results Enough errors are what results mean and mean and implications of
Discussion
4 follow the discussion and information was so made to be distracting, implications of results. result. Provide
(A3)
inaccurate that makes the but some information No significant errors consistently accurate
report unreliable was accurate are made information

No attempt was made Conclusion was derived Conclusion was good Conclusion was good Conclusion was excellent
to conclude and from the collected and and derived from the and derived from the and derived from the
objective of the lab analyzed data but it is not collected and analyzed collected and analyzed collected and analyzed
Conclusion
5 were not answered answering the objectives data and not from data and not from data and not from other
(A4)
other sources but did other sources and sources. Conclusion
not directly answering directly answer the clearly answer the
the objective objective objective
Not able to Able to acknowledge Able to list and Able organize and Able to organize and
acknowledge some relevant references acknowledge adequate adapt very good adapt substantial relevant
References
6 references and no and several appended relevant references references with plenty and recent references as
/Appended
appended materials materials and some appended appended materials well as the appended
Materials (A3)
materials materials

1
 TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Introduction …………………………………………… 3
2. Theoretical …………………………………………… 3
Background
3. Objective …………………………………………… 6
4. Problem Statement ……………………………..…………….. 6
5. Apparatus …..……………………………………….. 8
6. Procedure ..………………………………………….. 8
7. Data & Analysis ………………..………………………….. 9
8. Discussion ………………..………………………….. 14
9. Conclusion …………..……………………………….. 15
10. Reference ……..……………………………………… 15
11. Appendix …………………………………………… 16

2
 1. INTRODUCTION

Traffic study is an important tool to assess the condition of the existing traffic facilities. The
saturation flow rate is a essential parameter to measure the intersection capacity and time the
traffic signals. Saturation flow rate is broadly used in signalized intersection control and
design. At any intersection, capacity and delay must be computed to ensure that both quantity
and the quality of flow requirements have been satisfied. Saturation flow rate is expressed in
the quantity of vehicles per hour of green time, per lane.

2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Saturation flow is a macro performance measure of junction operation. It is an

indication of the potential capacity of a junction when operating under ideal
conditions. Ideal conditions (TRB, 2000) assume the following:
• 3,6 meter lane width;
• No heavy vehicles;
• Flat gradient;
• No parking or bus stops near the intersection;
• Uniform movement type, i.e only straight movement or only turning
movement; and
• No pedestrians or cyclists.

The Highway Capacity Manual (TRB, 2000) prescribes an ideal saturation flow rate
of one thousand nine hundred vehicles per hour per lane. An idealized view of
saturation flow at a signalized junction is illustrated in Figure 2, the rectangular model
of saturation flow rate (Turner and Harahap, 1993):

3
Note from the figure that as the traffic signal shows green, there is first a very short
gap as the first driver reacts to the signal change. The rate of vehicles crossing the
stop line increases as vehicles accelerate to the speed determined by the cars they are
following. Vehicles soon reach a state where they are following one another at a
constant headway. This constant rate is represented by the plateau of this flow profile.
In a saturated junction, the queue formed in the red time will be too long to clear in
the green period and so cars will follow each other at constant spacing during the
green period. The flow rate will start dropping at an increasing rate when the signals
are in yellow time and then stop when the signals turn red. The saturation flow is
calculated by making the curved profile into a rectangle from which the dimensions
can be measured. This is achieved by identifying lost time and effective green time.
The lost time is the time from the start of green to a point where vehicles are flowing
at half the maximum flow plus the time from where vehicles are flowing at half the
maximum flow at the end of saturation to the beginning of red time. However, to
determine the saturation flow rate from time measurements taken in the field the
following equation is used: s h s 3600 = (Equation 2) Where: s = saturation flow rate;
3600 = number of seconds per hour; hs = saturation headway. Various factors can
influence traffic behaviour and in turn the saturation flow rates.

4
The following factors (Turner and Harahap, 1993) play a role:

• Vehicle mix; A multitude of different types of vehicles, motorized and non-

motorized, with different operating performances;
• Driver behaviour - poor lane discipline and observation of traffic signals;
• Public transport - varied mix of bus types, stopping places and driving styles
• Roadside activity - roadside land uses generate parking and non-transport activities
that reduce effective lane width The study done in Stellenbosch investigated the
following possible influences on saturation flow:
• Speed limits - intersections with different speed limits namely 60 km/h and 80 km/h
were observed;
• Gradient - intersections on different gradients were observed for traffic flow up hill
and traffic flow down hill
; • Right-turn movements - intersections with a leading green-phase for right turning
movements were observed;
• Number of through lanes.

5
 3. OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study is to capture all appropriate items in the traffic condition at Batu
Kawan traffic control system at signalized intersection and do analysis based on saturation
flow rate calculation.

4. PROBLEM STATEMENT

Industrial area is favorable place for workers in Batu Kawan and IKEA is just a stone throw
away from this junction. This contributed to increase number of vehicles and congestion
during peak hour. Existing traffic signal system might be unable to regulate traffic flow thus
leading to a traffic delay and congestion. The campus management has appointed my firm to
conduct a traffic assessment at the signalized intersection in order to address and solve the
problem.

Figure 1: Junction map

6
Figure 2: Junction’s view

7
5. APPARATUS

Stopwatch Camera
Table 1: Apparatus

6. PROCEDURE

a) The total group of 4 people were divided to watch the video in shifts.
b) One lane was selected among the traffic signal junction and the reference line was set.
c) In the midst of red light, the number of vehicles were recorded. The minimum
requirement for one cycle is 8 cars stopped during red light.
d) Stopwatch started when the traffic signals turn to green light.
e) Time taken for the last vehicle that passing through the reference line was recorded as
tn.
f) Lastly, stopwatch stopped when the green light turned amber and the first cycle data
completed.
g) Repeat number 3-7 for 15 cycle with different shifts

8
 7. DATA AND ANALYSIS

1.0 TABULATION OF DATA

Cycles
BNBNBNB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
N BNN
1 13.1 15.43 12.71 11.55 17.10 15.35 14.43 10.47 9.39 6.37 11.13 12.07 9.09 10.29 9.61
8
2 16.1 17.50 20.96 13.23 21.33 19.47 20.51 18.03 14.73 12.93 15.17 18.04 12.28 7.78 14.59
5
3 20.6 20.99 25.12 24.32 25.88 25.58 27.44 23.08 20.36 17.95 19.38 27.94 14.82 12.80 20.78
5
4 24.4 24.11 28.66 31.17 29.33 30.23 31.39 25.60 23.91 23.72 22.41 30.89 22.60 16.85 24.35
3
5 27.9 29.22 3297 46.63 32.94 32.83 34.31 31.49 27.43 30.44 25.77 35.36 29.73 21.67 27.7
3
6 30.9 34.46 37.13 58.18 35.8 39.85 39.6 38.78 30.18 32.74 30.01 40.53 32.61 27.68 31.47
9
7 34.5 49.10 42.68 42.53 44.22 43.2 44.96 35.88 35.47 34.68 44.54 31.91 35.09
6

9
8 37.9 81.35 47.51 46.71 47.94 48.25 48.86 42.18 42.65 38.09 48.37 36.08 39.53
6
9 42.6 51.28 49.18 64.22 52.11 52.37 48.57 49.51 43.82 52.04 39.81 43.09
1
10 46.6 57.1 80.83 71.95 54.82 55.55 51.60 59.61 51.97 56.29 43.08 49.8
6
11 60.8 60.62 77.66 58.90 61.96 53.63 63.03 58.87 68.09 47.38 53.3
6
12 63.22 84.40 63.91 64.79 58.15 68.29 61.88 73.22 50.96 55.21
13 67.46 111.4 68.05 70.09 61.57 72.93 66.14 79.02 57.17 58.59
2
14 72.39 74.45 47.97 83.31 75.69 71.69 82.04 71.33 65.94
15 89.64 77.64 78.22 86.32 80.41 77.01 73.68 71.69
16 81.33 81.55 95.35 96.86 82.17 77.09 77.98
17 83.47 86.93 85.26 80.74 89.97
18 89.64 89.97 90.19 83.62
19 93.33 97.64 95.48 86.93
20 101.6 101.1 91.23
1 1
21 103.5 109.1 95.74
3 0

10
 22 126.4 112.0 98.7
1 2
23 120.6 103.1
9 5
24 123.3 108.7
9 9
25 122.7
7
Green time(s) 70.4 91.23 97.93 65.98 101.8 135.5 135.0 135.7 126.6 108.8 112.4 108.5 63.57 134.5 124.4
9 8 6 0 5 7 6 8 2 3
Cycle 274. 304.3 189.7 211.2 329.9 371.1 352.4 337.0 305.7 311.9 278.4 315.1 276.0 350.6 329.4
Length(s) 8 3 8 2 1 5 6 8 5 3 2 2 5 3 7
Clearance 6.26 6.58 6.12 6.30 6.14 7.11 6.87 6.25 6.31 7.02 6.77 6.00 6.99 6.45 6.35
Interval(s)

11
Cycles Total Time taken for Time taken for Average Saturation flow Start-up delay Effective green Lane capacity
number the 4th vehicle the last vehicle headway, h (s) (s) (s) time, g
of cars to reach the to reach the
in one stop point,T4 stop point, Tn
cycle, N (s) (s)
1 11 24.43 60.68 5.18 695.17 18.23 46.00 116.37
2 8 24.11 81.35 14.31 251.57 17.91 66.74 55.17
3 15 28.66 89.64 5.54 649.39 22.46 69.35 237.30
4 6 31.17 58.18 13.51 266.57 24.97 34.71 43.81
5 10 29.33 80.83 8.58 419.42 23.13 72.61 92.31
6 13 30.23 111.42 9.02 399.06 24.03 104.42 112.27
7 22 31.39 126.41 5.28 681.96 25.19 102.94 199.17
8 24 25.60 123.39 4.89 736.27 19.40 110.10 240.49
9 16 23.91 95.35 5.95 604.70 17.71 102.65 203.02
10 16 23.72 96.86 6.10 590.65 17.52 84.26 159.55
11 19 22.41 95.48 4.87 739.02 16.21 89.48 237.51
12 14 30.89 82.04 5.12 703.81 24.69 77.89 173.97
13 6 22.60 32.61 5.01 719.28 16.4 40.18 104.69
14 25 16.85 122.77 5.04 713.75 10.65 117.42 239.02
15 17 24.35 89.98 5.05 713.20 18.15 99.93 216.32
Average 15 25.98 89.90 6.90 592.26 19.78 81.25 162.06

12
Sample Calculation

Average Headway , h = [Tn - T4] / [ N - 4]

= [60.68- 24.43] / [ 11 - 4 ]

= 5.18 s

Saturation Flow , q = 3600 / Headway

= 3600 / 5.18

= 695.17 sec/veh

Start up delay = T4 - [ 4 * 1.55]

= 24.43 - [ 4 * 5.18 ]

= 18.23sec

Effective green time, g = Green time - Start up delay + Clearance time

= 70.49 – 18.23+ 6.26

= 46.00 sec

Lane capacity, c = [ Effective green time / Cycle length ] * Saturation flow rate

= [ 46.00/ 274.8 ] * 695.17

= 116.37

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 8. DISCUSSION

From the data it can be found that the headway is different for each cycle due to the number
of cars in a cycle and type of vehicle. So, for the lane those have high capacity of vehicle the
green time should have long time so that more vehicle can pass a point on the roadway thus
the road will not congested. We also analyze there are certain cycle that the lane capacity of
road exceed the standard of ARAHAN TEKNIK (JALAN) which is under ideal condition,
the possible capacity for uninterrupted flow is as follow: For 2-lane two way = 2800 pcu/hr
(total) and for multilane (per lane) = 2000pcu/hr. Thus make the saturation flow high.
Saturation flow is important road traffic performance to determine the maximum rate flow of
traffic. The road design, capacity and operation of signalized intersection depend on
saturation flow and passenger car units. There are some factors that affecting the saturation
flow which are:
1. Wet weather conditions
- Saturation flows decrease to 6% below their dry weather values.
2. Gradient
- For every 1% increase in uphill gradient (measured over a 60 m distance back
from the stop-line) the saturation flow value will decrease by 2%. Downhill
gradients do not affect saturation values
3. Turning movements
- In situations where the turning traffic is unopposed, saturation flows will decrease
as the proportion of turning traffic increases. Where turning traffic is opposed, the
saturation flow will depend on the number of gaps in the opposing traffic flow
together with the amount of storage space available to those vehicles making this
traffic movement.

When lane capacity of road had achieved the maximum capacity the road will be congested,
so the data are required to determine whether the road is sufficient or need for future
development. There are several main roadway factor that affect capacity are lane width of
less than 3.65, lateral clearance such as walls and lamp standard which is less than 1.83 m
from the pavement edge, presence of paved shoulder, surface conditions, road alignment,
sight distance and grade. Traffic factor that affect capacity of lane are proportion of medium
and heavy vehicles in the traffic stream, lane distribution and variations at peak hours, access
control of roadway

14
 9. CONCLUSION

This study mainly aims to capture the appropriate item in the traffic at Batu Kawan and
analyze saturation flow rate calculation. The data analysis showed average headway,
saturation flow, startup delay, effective green time and lane capacity. Based on the
discussion above all the data that we analyze is affecting the saturation flow at signalized
intersection at Batu Kawan, Pulau Pinang. Our opinion on the signalized intersection is there
should be future development to solve the high saturation flow at the intersection.

10 REFERENCE

a) Mohammed Ibrahim, Saturation Flow Concept at Signalized Intersection for Non

Lane Based Traffic,
http://www.ijirset.com/upload/2017/january/34_1_SATURATION_N.pdf ,
(accessed October 21, 2020)
b) Author unknown, Capacity and Saturation Flow Rate,
https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/niatt_labmanual/Chapters/signaltimingdesign/
professionalpractice/CapacityAndSaturationFlowRate.htm , (accessed October 27,
2020)
c) Bester, C.J., & Meyers, W.L. (2007), Saturation flow rates. SATC 2007. Retrieved
from https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/5838
d) “Determination of ideal saturation flow at significant intersectionunder Malaysian
road conditions
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242309766_Determination_of_Ideal_

15
10. APPENDIX

16