Traffic Engineering

Code:

M.EC013

Acronym:

ET

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Transport Infrastructures

Instance: 2024/2025 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Civil and Georesources Engineering
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Civil Engineering

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
M.EC	13	Syllabus	1	-	6	45,5	162

Teaching language

Portuguese and english

Objectives

The main objective of this course is to provide to the students scientific, technical and practical knowledge of the fundamentals of Traffic Flow Theory and techniques of Road traffic Engineering for transport infrastructures, and with the competency to analyse traffic impacts in order to optimize traffic flow taking into account road safety.

Learning outcomes and competences

The analysis of the road infrastructure looking to all the users and considering the operation, the economic aspects and the environmental impacts are essential, and within this aim several learning objectives can be pointed out:

• Identify the main elements of the road infrastructure
• Identify concepts and technics to collect, to process, to describe and to show the quantitative information
• Analysis and evaluation of the different solutions identifying the key performance indexes and applying empirical or simulation methods
• Acquire critical understanding of different approaches and identify the solution.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Traffic flow

• Interrupted/uninterrupted flow
• Macro and microscopic analysis: fundamental relations
• Data collection
• Macro and microscopic models
• Deterministic and stochastic models

Network performance

• Types of links and nodes
• Applicability
• Evaluation

Traffic control and management

• Levels and types of control
• Design
• Evaluation

Mandatory literature

Transportation Research Board; Highway capacity manual. ISBN: 978-0-309-16077-3
Institute of Transportation Engineers ; ed. James L. Pline; Traffic Engineering Handbook. ISBN: 0-13-926791-3
Salter, R.J.; Hounsel ,N.B.; Highway Traffic Analysis Design, Palgrave, 1996. ISBN: 0-3332-60903-4

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical classes will be based on the oral presentation of themes of the course supported by slides. Theoretical-practical classes will be based on problem solving and the development of team work regarding real case studies, using informatics resources, in which the students will apply the concepts that have been taught.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	50,00
Trabalho prático ou de projeto	40,00
Teste	10,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	90,00
Frequência das aulas	45,50
Trabalho escrito	30,00
Total:	165,50

Eligibility for exams

Achieving final classification requires compliance with attendance at the course unit, according to the MIEC assessment rules. It is considered that students meet the attendance requirements if, having been regularly enrolled, the number of absences of 25% for each of the classes’ types is not exceeded.

Calculation formula of final grade

CF = Máx {0,50*EX + 0,10*TI + 0,40*TP; EX}

Where:
CF – Final classification;
EX – Classification of the final exam;
TI – Classification of the individual work;
TP - Classification of the pratical assignments.

The individual work and pratical assignments are optional.

 

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Sdudents are allowed to do the final exame (0-20)

Classification improvement

In the final exam the students will have the possiblility to carry out an examination that will allow to recover the evaluation.

Observations

Estimated working time out of classes: 3 hours