Analysis of an extended two-lane lattice hydrodynamic model considering mixed traffic flow and self-stabilization effect

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the mixed traffic flow, self-stabilization effect and the lane changing behavior on traffic flow stability. Design/methodology/approach An extended two-lane lattice hydrodynamic model considering mixed traffic flow and self-stabilization effect is proposed in this paper. Through linear analysis, the stability conditions of the extended model are derived. Then, the nonlinear analysis of the model is carried out by using the perturbation theory, the modified Kortweg–de Vries equation of the density of the blocking area is derived and the kink–antikink solution about the density is obtained. Furthermore, the results of theoretical analysis are verified by numerical simulation. Findings The results of numerical simulation show that the increase of the proportion of vehicles with larger maximum speed or larger safe headway in the mix flow are not conducive to the stability of traffic flow, while the self-stabilization effect and lane changing behavior is positive to the alleviation of traffic congestion. Research limitations/implications This paper does not take into account the factors such as curve and slope in the actual road environment, which will have more or less influence on the stability of traffic flow, so there is still a certain gap with the real traffic environment. Originality/value The existing two-lane lattice hydrodynamic models are rarely discussed in the case of mixed traffic flow. The improved model proposed in this paper can better reflect the actual traffic, which can also provide a theoretical reference for the actual traffic governance.