Analysis of predictive effect on lattice hydrodynamic traffic flow model

Abstract

This paper proposes a new lattice hydrodynamic traffic flow model which works by incorporating the predictive effect of expected traffic variation tendencies. We use a linear method to analyze the influence of predictive effect on traffic stream stability. The derived analytical critical stable lines indicate that the expected behavior of the vehicle ahead can enhance traffic stability. Then we adapt the reductive perturbation method to deduce the modified Korteweg–de Vries (mKdV) equation. Also, kink–antikink solutions capable of describing traffic jams are derived. The numerical results show that the predictive effect has the capability to improve traffic stability.