Revised lattice Boltzmann model for traffic flow with equilibrium traffic pressure

Abstract

A revised lattice Boltzmann model concerning the equilibrium traffic pressure is proposed in this study to tackle the phase transition phenomena of traffic flow system. The traditional lattice Boltzmann model has limitation to investigate the complex traffic phase transitions due to its difficulty for modeling the equilibrium velocity distribution. Concerning this drawback, the equilibrium traffic pressure is taken into account to derive the equilibrium velocity distribution in the revised lattice Boltzmann model. In the proposed model, a three-dimensional velocity-space is assumed to determine the equilibrium velocity distribution functions and an alternative, new derivative approach is introduced to deduct the macroscopic equations with the first-order accuracy level from the lattice Boltzmann model. Based on the linear stability theory, the stability conditions of the corresponding macroscopic equations can be obtained. The outputs indicate that the stability curve is divided into three regions, i.e., the stable region, the neutral stability region, and the unstable region. In the stable region, small disturbance appears in the initial uniform flow and will vanish after long term evolution, while in the unstable region, the disturbance will be enlarged and finally leads to the traffic system entering the congested state. In the neutral stability region, small disturbance does not vanish with time and maintains its amplitude in the traffic system. Conclusively, the stability of traffic system is found to be enhanced as the equilibrium traffic pressure increases. Finally, the numerical outputs of the proposed model are found to be consistent with the recognized, theoretical results.