Freeway-ramp merging segments are important components of freeway facilities.The composite behavior of acceleration and gap acceptance of the merging traffic and thecooperative behavior of the freeway traffic can result in conflicts and trigger congestion.The goal of this research is to develop a ramp merging model that considers the mergingprocess as it is perceived by drivers and also to investigate the contribution of individualdriver’s merging behavior to the breakdown event. This research conducted focus groupmeetings and in-vehicle experiments to observe drivers’ merging behavior. The data wereused to develop a gap acceptance model under different merging conditions and a driverbehavioral model that predicts freeway vehicles’ interactions with the merging vehiclesconsidering different driver types. A merging turbulence model which evaluates theeffect of vehicle interactions on traffic flow is also presented. The findings of this studycould be used for refining existing microsimulation models and replicating realisticallythe freeway flow breakdown, as well as providing insights to the triggers of the freewayflow breakdown.
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