A novel two-lane continuum model considering driver’s expectation and electronic throttle effect

Abstract

Considering the effect of driver’s expectation and the electronic throttle (ET), an improved two-lane continuum model is proposed. The linear stability condition of the new model is obtained by using the linear stability theory. The nonlinear analysis method is used to study the evolution process of traffic density wave near the neutral stability curve, and the improved KdV-Burgers equation is obtained. The numerical simulation analysis of the improved traffic flow model is carried out to further study how the changes of the expected effect of drivers affect the vehicle speed, the density of traffic flow, vehicle fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. Numerical results demonstrate that the new continuum model presented herein can well describe the developments of shock waves and rarefaction waves, and considering the factor of driver’s expectation and ET effect has a positive impact on the dynamic characteristic of macroscopic flow.