Study on propagation speed of small disturbance from a car-following approach

Abstract

In the literature of macroscopic traffic theory, the research on the propagation speed of small disturbance (PSSD) possesses an important significance. However, presently the research on the problem is unsatisfactory because it is difficult to determine the PSSD both analytically and empirically. In this paper, some efforts have been made for better understanding the problem by studying the PSSD from the car-following simulation. From the simulation, we learn some properties of the PSSD. First, it depends on the equilibrium speed density relationship. Second, it is also affected by the sensitivity parameters in the corresponding car-following model. Since the calibration of the parameters in the car-following model is much easier than direct calibration of the PSSD, the approach provides us a realistic way for macroscopic models study. Moreover, the stable region determined by the macroscopic model with the PSSD simulated from the car-following approach nearly matches with that of the corresponding car-following model, which also verifies the availability of the approach.