Steady-state traffic flow on a ring road with up- and down-slopes

Abstract

Steady-state traffic flow on a ring road with up- and down-slopes is investigated using a semi-discrete model. By exploiting the relations between the semi-discrete and continuum models, a steady-state solution is uniquely determined for a given total number of vehicles on a ring road. The solution is exact and always stable with respect to the first-order continuum model, whereas it is a good approximation with respect to the semi-discrete model provided that the involved equilibrium constant states are linearly stable. In other cases, the instability of one or more equilibria could trigger stop-and-go waves propagating in certain sections of road or throughout the ring road. The indicated results are reasonable and thus physically significant for better understanding of real-world traffic flow on inhomogeneous roads, such as those with junctions or bottlenecks.