Uncontrolled nodes

Note: . For nodes of the control type uncontrolled and the Method for impedance at node Node impedance calculation (ICA), a calculation model similar to the Node VDF is used (Fundamentals: Uncontrolled nodes).

1.  Make sure the node input attributes Capacity PrT and t0 PrT are set correctly for nodes of the control type uncontrolled.

Note: For the turns of the node, an additional turn penalty t0 can be defined.

2.  Check and adjust the parameters on the Uncontrolled tab.

Element

Description

VD function

All VD functions are available for selection (Selecting VDFs for node types).

Maximum tCur

If this option has been selected, enter two values. The formula results in the user-defined maximum value for the tCur of the node.

Note

Since any VDF can be selected and a maximum value for tCur can be defined, resulting turn penalties are more realistic. If the BPR function is used with the default parameters a = 2, b = 4 and c = 1, the turn penalties for minor flows can be very high given full saturation. During route search these turns can then behave almost like blocked turns, which can cause severe fluctuations during assignment. Therefore it is recommendable to select parameters which ensure a lesser slope after saturation. This may be achieved with a parameter of b < 4 or better with the BPR2 function and b’= 1 if saturation exceeded 100%. Additionally it can be useful to set a maximum penalty. This is possible in the following form:

tCur = MIN (tCur from node VDF; node t0 x Factor; Max tCur)

Example with BPR function

t0 = 20 s

Saturation = 250 %

a = 2, b = 4

tCur = 1583 s = 26.4 min

Example with BPR2 function

t0 = 20 s

Saturation = 250 %

a = 2, b = 4, b’ = 0.8

tCur = 103 s = 1.7 min

A saturation of 250 % is not realistic in real life, but it may easily occur during assignment when the total volume is assigned to one shortest path.

Make sure that the node attribute t0 PrT > 0 if the calculated value for tCur should also be greater than 0.